Surf Net Parents

If you have a child that really enjoys taking pictures and are looking for ways to improve their skills, you can help them by suggesting the use of props. There are great ways to show your child how to improve their pictures with inexpensive props. Of course, you will need to help your child by being their assistant. Here are some inexpensive props to use:

Bubbles - Blow bubbles on the subject or just in front of the camera lens. You can pick up some bubbles at your local store or at a party supply store. If your child is taking pictures of their younger sibling, bubbles will help them gain the response they need from their subject. Almost every child loves bubbles and will certainly give a large smile to your other child taking the picture.

Bean Bag Chairs - A cheap prop to use is a bean bag chair. Bean bag chairs can be found at your local store. If you notice the bean bag chair is having a flash reflection, you can cover it up with a blanket or large piece of fabric. Again, if your older child is taking pictures of their younger siblings, a bean bag chair can offer several different posing positions.

Have your child blow bubbles.

Wicker Chairs - Large wicker chairs can add a dramatic effect to your child's pictures. By adding some fake ivy to the chair, it will provide a "classic" look and allow your child to take professional looking portraits. Wicker chairs can be found at a discount store or even at a thrift store.

A Mirror - Mirrors can be set on the floor and surrounded by ivy, fabric, or fake snow to create a whimsical image. Have your child photographer tell their subject to lie down on the mirror and gaze into the mirror.

Small Plaster Pedestal - If you go to a local hobby store or a home décor store, you will be able to find a small plaster pedestal that can be used as a prop for a subject to lean on. The best part about a plaster pedestal is the fact that they come unfinished. This allows you to paint them whatever color you want or cover them with different fabric to create a unique effect.

Adult clothing - Most children love to play dress up. It will be fun for your budding photographer to take pictures of their friends or family members as they play dress up. Get a bunch of adult clothes like hats, shoes, purses, ties, and jewelry.

A Garden Bench - Another way to make the photographs look professional is to use a garden bench. You can find a garden bench at a discount store or a garden supply store. Most benches are wood or plaster and they can be easily decorated with fake ivy or blankets.

Red Wagon - A little red wagon is a fun prop to use. Again, for a younger child, your budding photographer can position them pulling the wagon or sitting inside the wagon. Always be sure to immobilize the wheels of the wagon before you use it as a prop. You can find a wagon at a hardware store, yard sales, or your local store.

Large Blocks - The final prop idea is to use large blocks. Large number and alphabet blocks are great for taking pictures of smaller children. If you do not want to purchase the blocks you can make your own with sturdy craft boxes and glued letters or numbers on the sides. Have your budding photographer position their subjects next to or directly on the blocks.

Hopefully some of these prop ideas will help you teach your child about professional photography poses and help them increase their photography skills.

Teens and parents have stated that there are certainly gaps in the driver's education program. One of the largest gaps tends to be establishing safe driving habits. The current messages about cell phone use and alcohol use as a teen driver are missing the mark. Different populations of teens are facing different risks when it comes to driving.

How can parents and schools make sure teens are receiving the right messages about cell phone use, alcohol, and other distractions while driving? Some states have surveyed teens about what they consider dangerous while driving. Using the information provided by teens, schools can assess their programs and decide if they are sending the right messages to teen drivers.

Teens need time to gain experience and to build critical skills behind the wheel. Graduated Licensing Laws are another measure many states have implemented to address inexperience and distractions. Several insurance companies are also working with the states to implement Graduated Licensing Laws.

Passengers can distract drivers.

Recent surveys of teen drivers resulted in the following information:

•Teens don't think they are inexperienced drivers

•60% of teens believe inexperience influences safety, but only 15% consider their peers to be inexperienced.

•Teens base experience on obtaining a license rather than on miles driven or exposure to difficult driving circumstances.

•¼ of teens think that using a cell phone while driving is dangerous.

•79% of teens feel text messaging while driving is dangerous, but they have sent a text message while driving at least once.

•Most teens recognize that when a cell phone call triggers emotions, they pose a greater danger in the car.

•10% of teens view passengers as a distraction.

Using the above data, we can address these messages teens currently see and correct their misconceptions. Across the country, certain teen populations are receiving different messages than others about speeding, drinking, and distractions.

The first step in educating teens about the hazards of using a cell phone while driving lie with the parents. The adults who care about the safety of the teen drivers are in the best position to influence the teens. Parents, educators, and clinicians are the most effective in conveying safety messages that resonate with teens.

With the increase in motor vehicle accidents, it is even more important to stress safety in the car. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death among teens in the United States. Teen drivers aged 16-19 are four times as likely to die at the rate of adult drivers.

State Farm has teamed up with The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to create the Young Driver Research Initiative. This program focuses on surveying teens about auto accidents and the driver's education program. Most insurance companies will offer discounts to teen drivers who stay in an education program longer than 6 weeks.

Police officers hold a large responsibility in watching drivers using cell phones. Unfortunately it is hard for officers to identify the age of drivers before they pull them over. One place many police officers are looking for cell phone usage by teens is at the end of school. Several high school students are prone to jumping on their phone the second they are out of class and in their car. This is one area for police officers to stake out, but this won't solve all the problems.

Limiting phone usage is tough for parents to enforce upon teens, especially since most teens tend to carry their phones with them. Schools can play a large role in enforcing the cell phone ban as well. Holding educational courses about cell phone use while driving can teach the teens about the dangers associated with cell phones and driving.

With so many choices, how can you possibly select the right digital camera for your child? Finding a digital camera that takes clear pictures for a low cost may be an almost impossible task. How can you properly select the right digital camera for your child? Here are some tips to help you get started:

First, look at all your options and decide what is really important. Would you rather spend more money to get a higher resolution camera, or would you be fine with a $20.00 camera?

Second, consider the age of your child. If you are buying a kids' camera for the first time, chances are this is the first camera your child will own. How much money do you really want to spend? Think about what types of activities your child likes to do and decide if a cheap camera can do the trick. Perhaps you have a child who tends to drop their toys or tends to leave them outside in the rain. Determine what types of situations the camera will be in and then determine how much you will spend and on what type of camera.

Kids like to see the photos they've taken.

Third, consider the batteries and maintenance required with the digital camera. If you purchase a digital camera for your child that eats batteries, was it really worth the investment? Are you spending more to buy batteries than you did on the entire camera? Find out if the camera is compatible with your computer. Because kids like to look at the photographs they have taken, it is important that you can upload them to the computer for them to view, edit, and share. Here are some other digital camera accessories you need to consider:

· Memory cards
· Storage case
· Battery charger
· Flash options
· Rechargeable batteries
· Software

A digital camera is a big responsibility for a kid, so be sure you talk to them about how to properly use their camera. Be sure you have done the math to know what you can afford before you go out and buy the first kids' digital camera you see.

Here are a few suggestions for a kids' camera:

The Kidzoom Digital Camera - This camera comes with some pretty cool features compared to others. It allows you to plug in to the TV or PC and watch a slideshow of the pictures taken by your child. It also comes with software that allows your kid to get creative and have fun with the pictures they took. This camera can be purchased for $110 off Amazon.com

Do you have a child that loves to swim? A Jazz underwater flash digital camera might be just right for you. This camera can go underwater up to 9 feet and shoots videos and even has a flash. It is a 1.3 megapixel camera that will cost you about $35.00.

Do you have a child who craves adventure? How about a child with a really great imagination? The Digital Spy Camera is sure to get your child's imagination running wild. This digital camera is hidden in a pair of sunglasses and your child can press a secret button to snap photographs. The Digital Spy Camera costs about $20.00. Don't expect the picture quality from this camera to be impressive, in fact its pretty awful, but your kid will have a great time playing with it!

The Disney Pix Clicks Tinker Bell Digital Camera is a must have for your little Disney fan! This camera allows you to add images of their favorite Disney character to their photos. This camera can hold up to 200 pictures and has a one-inch LCD screen to view the photos. This camera costs $50.00.

Most children love to take pictures, but what about after? You can turn all those pictures they have taken into unique photo projects that they will enjoy for years to come. Kids tend to take numerous photos of the same subject over and over. If you notice your child doing this, here are some things to try:

Have a photo scavenger hunt. This can be done at a birthday, or just for fun. It can be quite fun for your child to participate in a photo scavenger hunt with their friends. Have all the kids take pictures of random subjects and tell them to combine weird, unusual and other angles. Whoever can come back from the scavenger hunt with the most unique photograph will win.

Does your child take photo after photo?

Make a photo jigsaw puzzle. By taking your child's digital pictures and turning them into a jigsaw puzzle, you are giving them the opportunity to show off their work to family and friends. A jigsaw puzzle becomes a game the whole family can play! You can make a photo jigsaw puzzle yourself by gluing a photograph to a piece of cardboard and then carefully cut it into curved pieces. If you do not want to make a photo cardboard puzzle yourself, you can upload your picture to a number of online photo web sites that will make one for you. Many digital cameras also come with software that allows the user to make a puzzle on the computer.

Your child can make a photo journal or scrapbook with their digital images. Your entire family can be involved in the photo journal. Have each member of your family pick a day of the week to take pictures of anything that is interesting or anything that defined their day. When the camera comes home at the end of the day, have the family member transfer the pictures onto the computer and organize the pictures into a journal with captions for each picture. These journals can be kept on your computer or you can print them into a homemade book.

Play around with the colors of the pictures with photo-editing software. Most computers come installed with some version of Microsoft Paint. In Microsoft Paint you can edit photos, but it will be very basic. There are other programs you can download that will allow you to play around with your photos on a wide variety. One particular program is called Paint.Net, this program supports multiple layers with transparency, painting and selection tools, red-eye removal, oil painting, and also allows for special effects like motion blur. Paint.Net is free and provides many extra options compared to Microsoft Paint.

Create a photo t-shirt. You can purchase iron-on photo transfer paper and print your photos directly onto it. From here you will need to purchase a lighter colored t-shirt (darker t-shirts often don't work well with transfers, but you can find dark transfer paper at some stores.). Now you will print the photo onto the transfer paper and iron it onto the t-shirt. Your child now has a t-shirt with a picture on it that they took!

A fun gift to give to the grandparents is a photo calendar. Have your child use their digital camera to take a bunch of pictures of their grandparents or take pictures of things they think their grandparents would like. You can print out the pictures and make a calendar with them, but this will take awhile as you have to get twelve 11 x 17 pieces of paper and write or print the yearly calendar information on the bottom and then glue the pictures to the top of each page. An easier way to make a digital photo calendar is to upload your pictures to a photo web site like Kodak.com. You will simply pick a design template and upload all your photos to the page and arrange them. Once you have completed your camera, you will just need to order the calendar and wait for it to be delivered.