My Little ShopThe grown-ups corner
The boring page, done properly
Kids never see this page. It exists because you are about to hand a child a cash register, and you deserve straight answers about what it teaches, what it collects (nothing), and what it costs.
What they practise while they play
The till is a worksheet that doesn't look like one. In an ordinary game your child will:
- recognise real notes and coins by sight, in your own currency
- add up a basket of shopping, and keep a running total in their head
- judge whether the money handed over is enough - and say so
- hand change back the way a shopkeeper does, with the till counting it out coin by coin
- write menus, name products, set prices and describe things for sale
- speak to customers: greeting, asking, thanking, apologising for the sold-out cake
Deciding whether the money handed over is enough is your child's job - the till only shows what is still owed and waits. The change itself, the till counts out in front of them, which is how they learn what making change looks like before they can do it alone.
Privacy, in plain words
The App Store privacy label reads "Data Not Collected", and it means exactly that. No accounts, no sign-up, no analytics and no ads. Shops and play history stay on the device. Team up lets two of your own devices talk directly over local Wi-Fi so one can be the checkout scanner; that play data is not sent to us or to a server.
- The camera is used only to scan stickers the app itself printed. Frames are read on the device; no photo is taken, stored or sent.
- Decline the camera permission and everything else still works.
- The Grown-ups section in Settings saves the whole game as a single backup file you control.
The full policy is on the privacy page, and the terms of service sit next to it.
What's free, what's paid
Free to play: your first shop, unlimited things to sell, the whole till - taking money, giving change, receipts and celebrations - all sixteen currencies, Awards, sticker scanning, Team up, and printable play money, pretend bank cards, barcode stickers and fold-up product packets.
One optional unlock - The Whole Shop: a single purchase, never a subscription. As many shops as you like, every printable (menus, price tags, table signs, sale posters, receipts, personalised Awards and more), restaurant tables and the full sales history. It sits behind a grown-ups-only gate, and once bought it is yours forever.
Teachers & homeschoolers
A classroom shop corner is one of the oldest and best numeracy stations there is - this just removes the prep. One device runs the till; the app prints the barcode stickers, price tags and class money; the children run the shop.
- Money recognition, addition, and giving change - in your country's actual currency
- Literacy on the side: writing menus, product names and price signs
- Turn-taking and customer talk for the drama corner
- No child accounts, ads or analytics, and the core game works offline
The free printables work with no app at all, if you want to trial the idea on paper first.
Questions grown-ups actually ask
What ages is My Little Shop for?
Roughly 4 to 10, with a grown-up nearby for the first game. Four year olds mostly tap things and hear the cha-ching; six year olds start to follow how the change gets made; from about eight they run the whole business - sales, table bookings and the daily report.
Does it really collect nothing?
Nothing about your child or their play. There are no accounts, analytics or ads. Shops and play history stay on the device. Team up sends play data directly between two of your devices over local Wi-Fi, not to us. Apple or Google handles the optional purchase.
What does it cost?
The download is free and the first shop is fully playable: the whole cash-and-card till, all sixteen currencies, Awards, scanning, Team up, and printable money, bank cards, barcode stickers and product packets. One optional purchase, The Whole Shop, unlocks unlimited shops, every printable, restaurant tables and the full sales history. Bought once, yours forever - never a subscription.
Why does it ask to use the camera?
Only to scan the barcode and QR stickers the app itself printed. Frames are read on the device and no photo is ever taken, stored or sent anywhere. Say no to the camera and everything else still works.
What money does it use?
Sixteen currencies with familiar notes and coins - dollars, pounds, euros, yen, ringgit, rupees and more. Change is made from denominations that exist in the selected currency, and money-based Awards scale with it.
Do I need a printer?
No - the shop, the till and the money counting all work without one. A printer just makes it better: stickers on real tins, price tags on the bookshelf, play money in a real purse. Any ordinary printer and plain A4 paper will do.
Is it on Android?
Yes - My Little Shop is on Google Play as well as the App Store, and the two versions are the same game. Printing and sticker scanning work the same way on both.
Can we move the game to a new device?
Yes. The Grown-ups section in Settings saves the whole game as a single backup file, which you can send to the new device however you like and load back in. Bringing it back replaces the shops on that device but preserves Awards already earned there.
Still wondering about something?
Ask the person who made it - say hello and you'll get an answer from the actual dad, not a support desk.