No Photography / Photographer at the Park

I took Stella to the museum earlier this year. It was a special treat. Her mum dropped us off and we were set for an adventure. Naturally Stella was intrigued by all of the exhibits. No one can know for sure how much a then 3 (soon to be 4) year old can learn from such a visit, but that wasn’t the point. Her mum and I were happy because she had a great day exploring. She was especially interested in the animal exhibits. She liked Phar Lap and sat down maturely to watch the video clips. She also liked the two long snakes in the big glass cabinet. It is funny how children are not fazed by such a sight as I found the snakes quite gross. Stella also visited the children’s museum and watched a puppet show. She wasn’t all that interested because she wanted to see the dinosaurs again. After that she wanted to leave because she was hungry.

With an hour to spare before her mum’s return to pick us up I thought that I would take her to the big playground behind the museum. That area used to be a children’s traffic school. It was quite hot. Before we left I reapplied sunscreen lotion on her as I didn’t want her to burn. We sat on a park bench to eat our packed lunch. As I munched away, I noticed a youngish couple with cameras under a tree. I thought they were just lazing around and didn’t think much of it. Stella became more energetic and talkative half way through lunch. As soon as she was finished, she decided to play on the equipment. She enjoyed exploring the different play areas and as usual, she tried to chat with other children who were mostly too shy to respond to her.

Stella loves the swing. At that time, she was still learning to pump on her own. She asked me to give her one mighty push and then let her pump by herself. I was still standing behind her when the young lady with the camera came over. The lady stood in front of Stella and said, “What a beautiful young lady you are.” She flashed a fake smile at me and asked Stella, “Did mum buy you that pretty dress?” (Funny how people think my charges are my kids.) Never afraid of strangers, Stella said, “Watch out, I might kick you with my foot.” The lady backed off a little and gave the Indian mum next to us a fake smile. She turned to Stella again and asked, “How old are you?” Stella answered her. With this, the lady crouched down in front of Stella and I saw that she was adjusting her camera. I stopped her and said, “No. Sorry. Please, no photographs.” The lady was clearly annoyed. She forced another fake smile and then walked to the Indian mum and began to take snaps of her toddler. The Indian mum didn’t seem to mind. After that, she came back to us and apologised for not asking first. The lady then walked over to the play area directly behind the museum. As I prepared Stella for the walk to meet her mum, a mother came over to me and asked if the lady wanted to take photos of my daughter. I replied yes. The mother was actually quite upset because her older son told her the lady took photos of the younger son. She asked if the lady explained why she was taking photos. I said no and I told her that I didn’t allow her to take photos of Stella and that the lady later apologised. Another couple of mothers (and their toddlers) came over to us asking the same thing about the lady with the camera. One was actually asking if there were any security guards on the ground. I excused myself because I had to go and meet Stella’s mum. As we were walking towards Nicholson St we saw the lady with the camera again. This time she was being told off by the man that was with her earlier.

I never found out why she was taking photos. She was probably taking them just for a course project. I didn’t allow her to take any photos of Stella because we didn’t know her. With permission from the parents I would allow my charges to talk to strangers if they talk to them first. I am always mindful though as sometimes people just want to greet a cute little Aussiemite sitting in a pram and nothing else. I explain to parents that I do not think it is healthy for children to be cut off from other people in their community. As adults we just have to be mindful of the situation because children have little experience gauging what is considered appropriate or inappropriate. It is wrong to always assume the worse of everyone on the street. I find it is better to allow children to practice greeting and have basic conversations with people in their community. This way, they will learn over time what is acceptable and feel what is comfortable to engage in. As for photographs, I simply do not allow anyone other than my charges’ parents to take pictures of the children when they are under my care. You just don’t know what these people are up to, especially if they don’t explain themselves first.