Binoculars Are Great Gifts For Kids
Binoculars Are Great Gifts For Kids
I am amazed at how kids today are so much more focused than I was. I have many good friends with children, their ages ranging anywhere from 4 to 12. Many of these kids participate in grueling sports regimens that involve traveling hundreds of miles away every other week end for some tournament or other. Whether it’s baseball, soccer, or dancing, these kids don’t do anything half way. These same kids are just as focused and competitive when it comes to playing games on Play Station, Xbox, Wii, and whatever other platforms that may exist. Whether it’s Tiger Woods Golf, MLB Baseball, or Guitar Hero-these kids really get really obsessed with these games.
I do believe that sports does provide a discipline and focus that otherwise could not be learned. And yes, the skills learned playing these games are transcending; and enable them to know so much more about the internet and soft ware design than I could imagine. However, with this information and sports overload, where is there time for children to really appreciate nature and the great outdoors? When was the last time a child you know came in from outside and said, “I just spotted a Red Breasted Nuthatch?” This article discusses how just a simple pair of binoculars will benefit children by exposing them to nature, exploration, and a whole other side of being outdoors.
Binoculars are great for spectator sports. Many young sports fans love to attend baseball games, football games, etc. with their parents, grandparents, uncle, etc. Kids just love to view their sport heroes up close. They are completely fascinated with the close-ups because other than meeting the players personally, this is as close as they are going to get. Similarly, many boys and girls love to attend rock concerts. My seven year old niece recently brought a pair of Carson Mini Binoculars to a Miley Cyrus concert and couldn’t stop raving about viewing her through the binoculars! They just make spectator events a little more fun for kids.
If you do decide to buy binoculars for a child you know, my recommendation would be an inexpensive compact design. Since kids have smaller faces, compacts will be more suitable for kids because their “interpupillary distance” (distance between the pupils of the eyes) measurements are much smaller than those of full size binoculars. I also do not recommend spending much more than $100 since kids tend to punish their binoculars more than most adults. Wait a while before you start spending the big bucks. Brand-wise, I like the Leupold Yosemite 6X30 or Leupold Yosemite 8×30 models. Carson Optical also has some great mini / compact binoculars that are built exclusively for kids.