A good cash register is hard to find! That’s I was so excited to see Kidoozie’s new Play ‘n Learn Cash Register for checkout at the grocery store. I normally don’t recommend electronic toys with so many sounds that a child gets distracted in play, but this toy is actually two in one–a grocery scanner, scale and money drawer and then for the older child, a calculator to add up your purchases as well as ABC and number games. The clever design hides all the grocery items in a back compartment. Kids love discovering the basket of food trays, three cartons of drinks, mustard and ketchup all packed away out of sight. Ready for several levels of play by age, the cash register was in full use by an 8 year-old as she scanned the tomatoes, apples and eggs, punched in her make-believe prices and add

ed up the numbers on the calculator. Using her Kidoozie debit card she payed for her groceries and ordered her brother to get a paper bag so she could take them home. On another level, a 3 year-old enjoyed naming the groceries and counting the items on the numbered trays, pushing the scanner on each food item, and opening the cash drawer to pay. As I was packing up my toys, the 18 month-old younger sibling started exploring the cash register as a cause-effect toy, seeing what happened when she pushed a button or pressed on the scale. I knew this toy was a hit when I had finished role-playing with a 5 year-old  where I had been the customer and she was the cashier and she asked if I could back away and let her play both roles!

Recommended Age: 18 months and up

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. The Play ‘n Learn Cash Register was provided for review by International Playthings.