There are many things you can do to smooth the transition from home to school. You can put notes in lunch boxes, draw sweet pictures on hands and say good-bye with special code words. Now what if you could speak a message to your child during the school day?

Developed by a mother who wanted a way for her kids to receive sweet, spoken messages from her, Talkatoo is a recording device, packaged as a super cute necklace or clip. Thirty seconds of recording time gives you the opportunity to say everything from a simple, “I love you” or even sing the chorus of a favorite song. There’s a lockout switch to activate that will keep your message from being accidentally erased so you can be confident that your words stay intact.

My children enjoyed taking turns recording messages on the Talkatoo and my 5 year old son was very excited to take it to school with a special message from me recorded on it. I was especially please with how excited he was over something so simple, yet so clever. The Talkatoo’s are recommended for ages 3-9, which I can absolutely verify. While my 10 year old liked playing with it at home, she wasn’t too keen on taking it with her to school.

Talkatoo is simple to operate and can be used by even young children. Get one for yourself and let your children record messages and songs for you to listen to while you’re away from them during the day. (In fact, I currently have mine in my room with a silly message from my son saved on it!)

Send some encouragement, record a reminder, tell a joke, give some love, and make the back to school transition easier on them…and you.

Talkatoo’s are available in some retail stores and on their website. And for every Talkatoo you purchase one is sent to K.I.D.S. (Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc). K.I.D.S., in cooperation with Operation Homefront, will forward donations of talkatoo products to children with a parent serving abroad in our military.

To keep up with what’s going on with Talkatoo, follow them on Twitter or find them on Facebook!

I received one Talkatoo for the purposes of reviewing the product. Opinions expressed are my own.