Family: "Stranger Danger" revisited: Concentrate on situations and actions!

"Stranger Danger" revisited: Concentrate on situations and actions!

Written by Kathy Alexander

Children do not understand repparttar

concept of "stranger". When you try to explain to them, it is even difficult to explain. Therefore, situations need to be discussed and acted out for young children to understand what to watch out for! It needs to be communicated, that strangers are not necessarily bad, but unknown. You are not being impolite to be cautious with people you don't know, just being SAFE! 1. The child's age is an important consideration: * Children aged 3-5: They are curious and may be naturally trusting. They also easily respond to adult attempts to be kind and supportive. Toddlers and preschoolers do not necessarily grasp repparttar 110162

long-term consequences of potentially dangerous situations. They live in repparttar 110163

now, hence repparttar 110164

"mine!" attitudes. * Children aged 6-9: School age children have more of an ability to determine and understand right from wrong. They are able to remember information and put it to practical use. They may still get overwhelmed in challenging situations. * Children aged 10-13: These children are not good judges of their ability to handle bad situations. They may also feel that they should not be scared in difficult situations and can act too relaxed about their attitudes toward risk. 2. Parent's attitudes and approaches can make repparttar 110165

difference. Parents must set repparttar 110166

right tone for their children. If parents are calm when discussing tough or scary topics, children will be better able to learn and listen about repparttar 110167

possible dangers. Parents must monitor their own fear and be careful not to alarm their children unnecessarily. 3. Deliver information in age appropriate ways. Younger children (toddlers and preschoolers) will get more out of role-playing situations and repeated conversations. Older children (school age) can discuss current events or real situations to continue repparttar 110168

safety education process. Teaching our children and learning how they interpret repparttar 110169

information is a continual process in order to keep them safe from stranger dangers.

Birthday Party Photo Tips – How to Make Yours Truly Stand Out

Written by Robert Bezman

How many of repparttar

birthday party pictures you've seen are kept just because they are of someone's birthday, not because it is inherently a terrific photograph?

When was repparttar 110161 last time you heard anyone exclaim: “THIS IS REALLY A GREAT BIRTHDAY PHOTO?” Can you say… NEVER?

And yet, birthday parties are happening ALL THE TIME. You would think that "practice makes perfect," wouldn’t you; but in this case... uh-uh, it apparently doesn’t.

So, here we are, with another important birthday party looming on repparttar 110162 horizon and not knowing how to improve on past “how hum” photographs. NOT THIS TIME! Follow repparttar 110163 following 11 tips and you will need to start getting used to being asked to photograph OTHER PEOPLE’S birthday parties.

Can’t-Miss Birthday Party Photo Tips

1) Prepare For repparttar 110164 Party

Abraham Lincoln once remarked that if you’re going to cut down a tree, spend 90% of your time sharpening repparttar 110165 axe. Preparation makes any activity go better. And for birthday parties, you don’t want to have to wait until next year to make up for lack of preparation, do you?

So, what should you prepare for?

KNOW THE LOCATION. Whether repparttar 110166 party takes place in a home, party room, or amusement park; realize that each location has its own photographic "blueprint." Based on repparttar 110167 location’s blueprint, prepare beforehand for repparttar 110168 correct digital camera settings for white balance, metering mode, and exposure compensation.

2) Know Your Obstacles

What is going to be in your way at repparttar 110169 birthday party (excluding your drunken brother-in-law)? Are there any fixed columns, hanging plants or lights that need to be planned around? For example, if there is a fixed object right where repparttar 110170 optimal photos should be taken from, consider setting up repparttar 110171 main table someplace else. It’s much easier to figure this out before repparttar 110172 event than getting to repparttar 110173 party and realizing that you need to “move repparttar 110174 room a bit to repparttar 110175 left.”

3) The Main Table

If using rectangular tables, take repparttar 110176 birthday party pictures FACING THE WIDE END OF THE RECTANGLE. When doing this, use repparttar 110177 wide angle setting on your camera. If you shoot any birthday photos from repparttar 110178 narrow end, use as large an F-stop number as possible (optimally F-22 or higher). However, even if you do, some of repparttar 110179 guests will probably still be out of focus (hence, repparttar 110180 "shoot from repparttar 110181 wide end" suggestion).

4) Flash Decisions

Don’t automatically assume you should use repparttar 110182 camera’s flash all repparttar 110183 time. If your camera has a “hot shoe” (this and many other useful terms are defined at http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/compare-digital-camera-features.html ). If it does, consider using a bounce flash or a diffuser.

As a real eye-opener, find out how high your ISO setting can go and see if repparttar 110184 resulting photos are not too “noisy” (digital noise = film grain)

5) Better Safe than Sorry

Take multiple shots of repparttar 110185 critical photographs. Consider flash/no flash; different metering modes, and different F-stops. Also, regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And, by repparttar 110186 way, don't count on spotting small problems on repparttar 110187 tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification).

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