I'm a firm believer that every kid is an artist until they're told they aren't. Like any kid, mine are always up to something, whether it's building a village for their train set out of Legos, drawing dinosaurs, or taking the occasional photograph. For them, I think everything is an exploration into their own little world. It's awesome to watch, and I think it's important. I mean...what's life without an imagination?
When Holden (our oldest) was a year old, one of my good friends bought him his first camera: a little digital camera shrouded in rubber. It was basically indestructible, and what he captured with is was always entertaining. Life from three feet.
When he turned two, I gave him a 35mm camera to mess around with (since he had been using a camera half of his life). I had inherited it from somewhere, and felt it would be fun to have him tag along with me and try to get him thinking about taking only the good ones, as he only has 36 opportunities per roll, and Dad wasn't going to feed his camera too often.
While it's not as accessible as a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, photography's inherent limitations need a strategy, which build thought processes for preparing kids for whatever lies ahead...