A few weeks ago, I took my son to the park. As he was playing, I spotted a cool piece of local art painted on a park bench. So, I did what most people these days do — I whipped out my phone and snapped a photo. I figured I would post it to my Instagram later. (Always doing it for the ‘gram!)
My son, who obviously noticed what I just did, skipped next to me and asked if he could play with my phone. At first, I said, “Uh, no. We are at the PARK. Run! Play! Climb on something!” We did not drive to the park just for him to play that game on my phone. As I started to shove my phone back in my purse, he made the remark,
“But I want to take pictures, too.”
I decided to humor him and handed over my phone. Ground rule: No taking photos of people. I didn’t want random pictures of strangers, or even worse, someone thinking I put my kid up to snapping their photo.
For the next twenty minutes, I followed him around the park as he snapped nearly fifty pictures. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. We walked around, and he’d pause, point the camera, then continued on his way. I saw a few parents give me the side eye as I trailed my five-year-old holding a phone. Yes, I realize how ridiculous it looked. Later, when I scrolled through the pictures, I was surprised by what I saw.
Picture after picture showed my son’s perspective of the park and the different things he decided to capture. Different pieces of playground equipment, his feet, his shadow, a picnic table up close, a few shots of me standing near him. It was so sweet and cute. I really felt like I got a glimpse of what he sees. I’ve handed my phone over a few other times since then for him to capture his own moments. I have not been disappointed.
If you want to see things through your child’s eyes, try this fun little experiment.
You won’t be disappointed. Be warned, though — you’ll find yourself more willing to hand over your phone.
