For many parents, a digital camera for their young child is an item that features heavily in Christmas and Birthday present shopping lists. Certainly there is a vast array for any parent, Godparent, aunt, uncle, grandma or grandpa to choose from when selecting one of these as a gift. In this article, we talk about the features of children’s cameras and the developmental benefits children can gain from using them.
From the minute that a child can pick up and hold an object, little fingers are exploring and hand eye coordination is developing. The digital cameras designed for very young children, whilst they might look rather more like toys than their more ‘grown-up’ counterparts, can actually help with the development of fine motor skills. So if you have a child under five to buy for, look for bright colors, big, chunky, robust buttons that are easy for little ones to use. Look for a camera that is easy to hold with nice, rounded edges and which is easy to carry (a carry-strap that can be attached round the wrist is very useful for this purpose). There should also be an easy menu that children can understand so that they can use the camera without adult help.
For slightly older children who are not yet ready to progress to an adult model, look for extra features that will hold their interest for longer. For example, editing features such as adding borders to images or fun features such as adding sounds to pictures. Older children might appreciate a camera that looks more like mum’s or dad’s but which nevertheless retains the simplicity of use and robust qualities needed to avoid accidental damage.
One of the best features about a digital camera by comparison to one that uses film is that there is no waiting around to see the finished result. Also, pictures can be viewed straight after shooting so that mistakes can be corrected – which avoids a lot of disappointment when shots do not turn out as expected.
From another point of view, allowing a child the freedom to use his imagination and creativity in taking snaps of family occasions and having the pleasure of showing off his images to family and friends, not only builds confidence but also increases social skills and verbal abilities.
Sometimes people can be put off buying a particular children’s camera because they feel that the technical specification does not match up with that of cameras designed for grown-ups. Be reassured, this really isn’t an issue. Picture quality may not be as good, but your child is probably not going to want to print out a poster-sized version of his image – and the quality will be perfect for his snapshot-size prints and on-screen viewing.
The most important things to bear in mind when buying a kids digital camera, is to choose a model appropriate to the child’s age, that will be easy for him to use and which will be robust enough to stand up to many hours of play without being damaged accidentally. Review sites can be helpful in finding the right one for your child and the link supplied, takes you to Kids Digital Camera Reviews, which provides impartial and useful information to help you arrive at a decision.
Children’s cameras provide a sort of ‘half-way house’, somewhere between a toy and a fully-featured model designed for adults and to get more comprehensive information on the models available, guest author of this article, Alison Graham invites you to take a look at this post on her site:- http://kidsdigitalcamerareviews.org/best-camera-for-kids-under-100/
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