Short answer: A good screen-free camera for kids is a cheap, sturdy camera that only takes pictures. No apps. No feed. For ages 3 to 6, a rubber-cased kids’ camera with a small review screen is fine. From about age 7, the Camp Snap 2 ($69.99) has no screen at all. Teens can move up to film.

You know the move. The kid wants to take pictures, so you hand over your phone.

It comes back ten minutes later, warm. There are 400 burst shots of a seagull’s left foot. And somehow YouTube Kids is open.

(Nobody knows how. Nobody ever knows how.)

The kid wanted a camera. You handed over a mini super-computer with a lens on it.

If that sounds familiar, “it’s just for pictures” is probably your excuse too.

A camera that can’t scroll fixes the logistics. It takes the picture. Requires focus (get it?!). Then it goes back in the bag.

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