If you’re anything like me, you’re dehydrated. All the time. I don’t know why, but for whatever reason I just can’t seem to bring myself to drink water during the day. I’ve tried writing Post-Its to myself, putting “drink water” on all of my to-do lists, and even pouring myself a giant glass and setting it beside my laptop. I usually end up watering my plants before I water myself. Turns out, that was exactly what I needed to get more healthy.
Plant Nanny is an simple app. You set your height, weight, and activity level (sedentary), choose a flower pot and a seed, and wait for it to grow. Like real plants, your dandelions and devil’s ivies won’t grow up unless you water them sufficiently. Every time you take a drink in the real world, you can water your plant as well. A gauge goes up as you drink, and the app lets you know when you’ve had a sufficient amount to stay hydrated. It even warns you not to drink too much at once!
I was delighted when my plant first leveled up. It started out cute, and it only got cuter. I could poke it and it would sing or bounce a little, like a Pokémon or a pet. If I didn’t water it, my cute plant…got really sad.
I had to protect my little buddy. I couldn’t let it perish. I had to drink more water.
I’ve had Plant Nanny for about two weeks now, and I’ve actually noticed a difference. I’m drinking less coffee, I have more energy, my face isn’t as dry. I’m pretty sure I look prettier, too. It’s a bit of a guilt trip, but the plants make me happy, and I enjoy keeping them—and myself—healthy. I aim to get all the achievements, like staying hydrated for one month straight, or planting 12 dandelions in my garden. Maybe I won’t stick with it, but I feel like at very least I’m getting into the habit of pouring myself a glass of water every chance I get.
Caveats: Plant Nanny does have ads. It’s obnoxious, but most of them lead to pages in the Google Play store, so I’m fairly confident I’m not going to accidentally download something or get redirected somewhere iffy. You can also watch video ads to get free plant seeds, though seeds aren’t really hard to come by.
I imagine that this app could be a fun way to remind kids to drink water since they’d get to watch their plant grow. It might be tougher if you have a bigger family since there isn’t a way to do multiple accounts at once, though if you have more than one phone it could work. At the very least it’s a cute tool for staying healthy yourself! Plant Nanny is available on iOS and Android.
