Choosing a Camera For Your Kids

Many people have asked me what kind of camera they should purchase for the children. They want to know if they should spend enough money to buy them a digital camera that will produce good pictures or stay with a “kids” camera until they are older. Here are a few guidelines and suggestions on purchasing a camera for your child.

First of all you have to look at the age of the child. For a child under the age of 6 or 7, I would stay with a camera made for little children. You have to look at the safety issues also. These cameras do not have small parts that will break off easily and they are constructed to be tougher and withstand all the dropping and banging they will probably get. At this age, the child doesn’t really care about the quality; they probably just want the camera because they see mom or dad using one. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on a camera that will probably get lost, stepped on or dropped in the pool.

As your child gets a little older, they become more aware of the quality of their pictures. You don’t want to buy them a camera that they are going to be disappointed with. From the age of 7 to 8, their individual creativeness is really beginning to bloom. I do suggest a digital camera at this time. Give them a camera that they can be creative with. I would recommend and sturdy, higher end child’s camera. One that will withstand being dropped and banged around, and will still give them some decent results. Encourage them to look at the display before they take their picture. This is where they will make the connection between looking through the viewfinder and what the picture will actually look like.

At the age of 9 to 10, I would really recommend a good “low end” digital camera. At this age your child has begun to learn how to take care of their things and are a little more responsible. Get them a camera that has a zoom capability. This will help them to be more creative. This is a good age at which to start critiquing their pictures. Explain to them how they can improve their pictures. A zoom lens will give them the opportunity to “crop out” unwanted background noise and focus on what is important to them in the picture.

Children are learning at a much faster rate these days. You want to encourage their creativity as early as possible. Cameras are a great way to do that. Not only can children learn about the world around them, but also you as their parent, will learn more about your children and what is important to them.

I hope I have given you some information about choosing the right type of camera to get for your children. Photography is a great past time and something you and your children can do together.

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