I decided to make my nieces craft cameras for our recent trip to the River Safari. I don’t like them playing with handphones because I believe the screens are bad for eyesight and as a person who had to wear glasses at a very young age and suffered through doctor visits growing up, I wanted to limit their screen time. My sisters are anti-screen time for the kids and I support it. So instead of them obsessing over their parents’ phones, I wanted them to learn to take photos with a camera. I looked up a couple of ideas on Pinterest (the best website in the world for ideas).

I have a habit of saving old cardboard boxes. So, I used an old mini cereal box and toilet roll for the body and lens of the camera. A cereal box is a perfect size for the kids because it is small enough for them to hold.

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1. Mark the cereal box and cut out the circle from the toilet roll.
2. Cut the toilet roll in half. You will only need half of the roll.
3. Insert the toilet roll through the cut-out circle of the cereal box.
4. Secure the toilet roll with some masking tape. 

5. Cut out rectangles at the far right corner to create a viewfinder. Ensure that you try out the viewfinder so as to ensure it’s big enough for you to see through it. I secured the viewfinder with some masking tape to create a better tunnel for the viewfinder.

6. I created holes on each side of the box to secure a strap. Measure accordingly to ensure it’s a suitable length for the kid. I advise using ribbon instead of twine strings as the strap because strings tend to twirl and be a choking hazard.

7. I covered the whole camera with brown paper and design it accordingly to your preference. I didn’t copy it directly because it was not aesthetically my style. I googled film cameras to design the camera.

8. After adding your personal touch, I covered the camera with tape to make it waterproof or saliva-proof for my nieces.

Ta-da! Sit back and enjoy watching them take photos with their new cameras.

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I personally was very happy and surprised at how much they enjoyed playing with their pretend camera. I have to say Hanna was very enthusiastic at taking photos. Hopefully, when they grow a little older, I could get them disposable cameras to see life in their point of view.

xoxo