It’s a parenting fact of life that some kids just don’t like drinking water. For some reason, who knows why, there is just some aversion to it and it makes you crazy. This is my 6-year-old. We have gotten to the point where she gets dehydration sores in her mouth and UTIs too often to mention, all from not being properly hydrated. So, what’s a mom to do? One day, I was handed the Gululu Interactive Water Bottle and something miraculous happened — she actually drank water. And drank. And drank. Until I had to forcibly cut her off for the day, and she hasn’t stopped since.
What’s a Gululu?
The Gululu Interactive Water Bottle is an ingenious BPA-free, kids water bottle that makes developing healthy hydration habits fun and easy. They do this by incorporating a small screen with a cartoon character who moves, laughs, cries and plays simply by shaking, patting, rubbing and drinking from the bottle, even making sounds (loud enough to hear but not loud enough to be obnoxious). The more you drink, the more it does. Having only been playing with this for a few days, we’ve seen her cry when she sits for awhile without being used, she gets dizzy when you drop or shake it, rubbing the bottle on one side makes her jump and she’s even ticklish. And yes, I did say “she” because there are three characters to choose from. My daughter chose the adorable pink fish and named her “Bella.” We are deep into this at this point. (She even visits Bella on the charging station.)
The parent’s app
This is an obvious home run for the kids, but Mom and Dad, Gululu also went out of their way to make the app as functional as possible for you too. The initial set up was so easy and worked perfectly, which usually is the hitch with products like this, but not Gululu. Once it’s downloaded and connected to your phone via its own Wifi connection, it will have you enter specifics for your child, including birthday, weight, and gender, giving you a personalized hydration goal for your child. For my 43 pound 6-year-old, the goal was 40 ounces daily, which sounded like a lot to me, yet she now exceeds this daily. Once your child’s bottle is connected to the Wifi, it will send you their drinking totals via the cloud so you’re always in the know. The Gululu app not only tells me accurately how much water she’s drinking, but also at what time, and will keep a 7-day record. Parents, don’t think your kids can pull a fast one on you either by watering the plants with their water bottle, oh no, IT. KNOWS.
My one concern was this bottle being at school and having it be a distraction, but through the app you can set a school timer which will turn the bottles interactive features off during school hours, on at lunch, and then off again until school ends. It even has a bedtime timer where the moon rises and Bella will put herself to sleep. If your child has a friend with a Gululu bottle, shake them next to each other and the characters will jump screens and play with each other. You can also, share progress and encourage friends to meet their goals via the app.
The details
Each Gululu Interactive Water Bottle is 13.5 ounce, BPA-free, completely waterproof (I tested it), shockproof, 6-year-old kid-proof and has a rubbery feeling outer shell which is easy to hold for small hands. The spout comes apart in two pieces for full and complete washing and they are also replaceable — no chance for hidden gunk and grossness you find with other water bottles. And with the lid on, the bottle is 100% leak-proof. The Gululu sits on a dock for completely wireless charging, so no ports to worry about on the bottle itself. They say the bottle will last 2-3 days on a full charge but I think my kid plays with it a lot so we find we have to dock it every night, which is fine and has become her thing at bedtime. Gululu Interactive Water Bottles comes in five colors, three characters, and endless possibilities.
I really can’t say enough good things about this water bottle and the instant impact it had on my daughter’s hydration levels. It’s not gimmicky, it’s not flimsy, it does everything it says it’s going to — even the box and story booklet that come with it is fancy. You’re going to love it! Gululu Interactive Water Bottles are available for pre-order now through their Indiegogo campaign. Get it quick before they run out!
