cameras for kids to take on vacation--need opinions, please!

[Anonymous]

We are going on a much-anticipated 3 week family vacation. Our kids (4 and 6) have asked for kids cameras to document their travels (we are also keeping travel journals, with simple notes and drawings, etc). Now as I'm shopping for kids cameras, I'm seeing that they fall into 2 categories: $60ish for decent quality (impact and water proof) and ratings, $20ish will buy something that may make clicking sounds and have a viewfinder but will be useless as a camera. I don't mind spending $60 (x2) for an amazing toy/learning tool for my kids, but since this is for use on vacation, I'm just picturing the high likelihood of brand new cameras geting lost, left somewhere, etc. or else DH and me spending our vacation nagging the kids about their cameras.

If you were in my shoes would you go ahead and buy the decent quality cameras and hope for the best? Or would you buy them each a couple of disposable cameras (no instant gratification, but less grief if lost)?

[Anonymous]

at 4 and 6....they could probably handle some responsibility.

They're going to need reminding. All you can really do is make sure they know that if they don't keep track of their camera, then it will get lost and they won't have their pictures.

I guess part of it depends where you're going. At the beach they could get messed up with sand, or swept away in the ocean. At the grand canyon they could fall down the side.

You really just have to ask yourself if it's a risk you want to take.

[Anonymous]

At 4, this is difficult, but I probably wouldn't agree to buy a camera. But, for the 6 year old, I'd probably bite the bullet on the $60 one and then set up some rules to help him/her be responsible for it. My kids are now 7 and 10 and have $150 cameras for which they are completely responsible. However, I had to work with them for quite awhile on how to take care of the camera so that it didn't get lost or broken and I don't allow them to take them to events where I am not going to be present yet, like school field trips, though I am going to have to revisit this soon for the 10 year old.

An alternative to buying a camera for the 4 year old might be to buy him/her a pouch for collecting mementos that you might later incorporate into a scrapbook.

One of the things that we do on vacations is that we take a laptop and download photos the photos each day and then put them into a blog.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the feedback. I really like the idea of a pouch for collecting mementos. I think I"m going to bite the bullet and buy the $60 cameras, but for my younger one the camera may have to stay in my bag.

[Anonymous]

Just a warning, I got my daughter the Argus Bean and it broke fairly quickly (2 months). I sent it back to get a replacement, but was pretty frustrated with how quickly it fell apart.