20 Jul Our Family's First Week With Gululu — Off To A Gululu Start!
Gululu is traveling all around the world and has found its way into the homes and hearts of several pilot users and their families. Here is a personal message and some great feedback we received from Sarah, a mother of two that we are excited to share with you. Let’s take a sneak peek!
My family first entered the Gululu Universe just 1 week ago (note: this article was written on June 28th) and we have been delighted beyond our expectations ever since! First, a little about us:
We are an American family of four?—?me, my husband, and my two daughters, ages 10 and 12. We are based in the Bay Area, California but we travel for long periods of time for our jobs. Most recently, we spent a few years as in Shanghai, China, and in the fall we will be based near Boston.
We consider ourselves to be health-conscious, as we eat low-sugar and low-cholesterol diets, and we all have our own daily exercise routines that consist of mostly running, dancing, hiking, and frolicking on playgrounds. Despite our high levels of activity, three out of four of us are camels?—?we rarely drink water (or any beverage, for that matter)! I have known this about my two daughters and myself for a while, but I did not realize the extent of it until we started using Gululu. We have all increased our water intake significantly in the past week, and have noticed some great results. Here’s an in-depth look at our successful journey:
?Day 1?— My daughters received Gululu bottles and we were all impressed and charmed by the adorable packaging…and even further charmed by the story of the Gululu Universe…
…but the bottle itself was the coolest part!
We quickly set up the bottles on the home Wifi network, synched them with the mobile app, and the girls chose their Gululu Universe virtual pets. S chose Sansa, and N chose Purpie. We washed the bottles, filled them with water, and the girls began drinking! Inspired by their enthusiasm, I also filled up a glass of water and took a few swigs. We are all on our way to better health!
Day 2 —?The girls woke up and reached for their Gululus right away. They realized that they had not friended each other yet, so they quickly set about this by shaking their bottles until Purpee jumped into Sansa’s universe. Now that they are Gululu friends, their habit scores are displayed on the app together. It didn’t take long before my competitive older one remarked to the non-competitive younger one that she is already winning the Gululu game (I’m very thankful for their opposite personalities, lest that remark would have turned into a squabble!). I take another few gulps from my relatively boring glass.
Days 3 & 4?—?I have noticed that they have formed an attachment to their Gululus beyond what they have in the past with other water bottles IN A GOOD WAY! They actually care about where their water bottles are, versus in the past they would rely on me to make sure that they had them nearby. It’s definitely a relief to me that they are actively keeping track of their bottles, and drinking from them, on their own!
Day 5?— We had a full day of activity and went to a family dinner party in the evening. Normally, my younger one does not like to leave the house past 8:00 pm or once night falls, as she gets very sleepy. However, this night I did not hear a single complaint about her being tired, and she partied with her friends all the way until 10pm. She even walked the kilometer home with us, feeling ready for bed but not depleted. We both noticed the difference, and she was the one to point out that maybe it was because she was drinking more water. Hmmm…maybe Gululu is already having a significantly positive effect on my littlest camel! We arrived home and everyone had a few sips of water from their chosen dispensers before we hit the hay for a much-needed rest.
Day 6?—?I notice that my two daughters are both really into their Gululus and are reaching their daily hydration goals more quickly than before, but they are motivated in two different ways. My older one is data driven, and loves to see the hard facts of her water consumption, whereas the younger one is more motivated to see her pet’s reaction when she drinks. I realize that there is so much potential for software evolution to continually motivate the kids and am looking forward to the automatic updates.
Day 7?—?We plan a playdate with two other Gululu Pilot Users and the kids were thrilled to compare their pets and hydration stats. They spent most of their time making up funny stories about their pets and their unique adventures through the Gululu Universe. It seems that Gululu not only inspires healthy hydration, but also imagination!
Summary?—?Overall, I expected that my kids would drink more water with Gululu and that they would have fun doing it, but I did not expect that I would also drink more water (from my boring glass), and that I would feel more energetic than usual. Not only this, however, I did not expect the independence and imagination that Gululu inspired in my kids. That’s something that any parent can raise a glass (of water) and drink to!
