We celebrated my son’s 6th birthday this past weekend with a special gift from Gululu! Along with helping them launch their Kickstarter Campaign, they asked Mom Does Reviews to be among the first to review their interactive water bottle for kids! We took the opportunity and combined it with his special day to get first-hand insight from a hard to please, oral sensory processing, ASD child for you — because if he loves it, your kids will too!
Animated pets come to life in the Gululu Universe as your child drinks water, reaching new levels and revealing new powers. Sensors in the hardware, together with educational and social software, let your kid care for their virtual pet and make new friends. Gululu makes it fun to drink water, helping children and adults stay hydrated and healthy.
Fluid consumption is always a concern for my family because my son doesn’t enjoy drinking (and has even been hospitalized for dehydration). We try special cups, and new juices, but very little works to get his attention. I was really hoping that this “exciting new birthday gift” would be just what he needed to get him drinking more.
Gululu arrived the day before his birthday in a beautiful box with illustrations from the Gululu Universe all over it. Because the box was so inviting to him, I decided not to wrap the gift or hide it. I left the Gululu package in the center of our kitchen island to allow his curiosity to grow!
The next morning, before his big day began, he asked to open his gift. It was a gut wrenching ten minutes watching him open the box, look at the interactive Gululu bottle, and turn it on.
My oldest son helped him download the app and pick out his Gululu character. He also explained how to interact with it by sliding his hands up and down on each side of the screen. The first time he saw his character go “ninja” was very fun! His eyes lit up and he was overjoyed.
Yes! He loves his Gululu!
The true test began after the first day. That’s when we know if a new food, drink, or anything is going to work for him. Happily, he still used his Gululu the next day and the day after. Actually, we are four days out from his birthday and he is still using Gululu! I cannot tell you how amazing that is to us!
More fun with two (or more):
We are looking forward to getting more Gululu water bottles for each of my children! This will allow our kids to play with their pets together! Shake! Shake! Shake!…
“Shake! Shake! Shake! – Be my friend!” Shake two nearby Gululu bottles and the WiFi modules in the bottle enter a peer-to-peer communication mode. The two bottles talk to each other, and the two virtual pets become friends. The new friend’s data is then synced to the Gululu app via the cloud.
What you want to know:
Besides knowing that my little guy loves his Gululu, there’s more I’m sure you want to know. The first thing I worried about was proper care. Can I put Gululu in the refrigerator? Do I have to wash Gululu in cold water or take it apart somehow for cleaning?
It’s really simple. Gululu should not the freezer. Hand washing in your usual warm soapy water isn’t a problem, just don’t put it in the dishwasher. Never use boiling water to clean the water bottle and don’t fill it with boiling water either.
Another thing I was worried about was dropping it. My son is our product durability tester — during meltdowns anything is a target for him to pick up and throw it. Before the day was out yesterday we had our first “Oh no!” moment. He became upset, picked up the Gululu (the closest thing to his person), and threw it across the room. It landed on the hard, concrete like, tile floor and I just knew it was a goner. My oldest son picked it up and was shocked to find Gululu had survived! We have a tiny scuff mark on the side of the water bottle — that’s all!
Shock-proof, Gululu Interactive Bottles are built to endure and enhance a rough-and-tumble childhood. Delicate visuals and characters combined with advanced sensors allow children to shape independence, healthy habits at an early age.
There’s an app!
The Gululu app isn’t just a place for you to setup your child’s digital pet, but also a way for you to monitor your child’s fluid intake, and set parental controls.
With School Mode and Sleep Mode in the Gululu app, parents can set specific times of the day when the animated pets and the gaming function will be unresponsive so that there is no distraction in the classroom or after bedtime.
Mom’s Thoughts:
I’m impressed with the quality in Gululu and the simplicity in it. The commands for the pet on the water bottle are simple, yet entertaining. The app is easy for me to use and I didn’t need a tutorial. Charging is amazing! Three hours of Gululu sitting on the wireless charging dock is all it needs to stay fully charged FOR DAYS! — I wish all tech devices were this easy!
I love it!
Gululu is working for my son. We are able to track his fluid intake, talk to him about meeting goals, and share this information with our pediatrician. While he thinks he is “feeding his pet” he is really keeping himself hydrated in a way that he hasn’t done is years. Gululu is a small solution to a big problem. I highly recommended it to anyone.
Gululu is on Kickstarter!
No surprise, Gululu preorders are flying off the Kickstarter shelves! Hurry over to Kickstarter to learn more about how this water bottle works, read the detailed information on the technology involed, and preorder your Gululu!
