I'm on vacation this week with my family. We went to a pretty awesome park on Sunday, and obviously I took my camera and slung it cross-body-style, like always. We had been on the playground 10 minutes when a 7ish-year-old girl walked up to me and started interviewing me about my camera and why I had brought it to the park. I explained that I no, I didn't need it but I like to take pictures so I brought it with me. I said bye as we went to ride the carousel, and returned to the playground about 30 minutes later. She found me again immediately:

Her: I think you should take pictures of me and my brother and print them for us. (A girl after my own heart.)

Me: Hmm, I don't have a printer on me.

Her: Ponders this while staring at me…. you could mail them.

Me: Well, when you put it that way… where's your mom?

Long story short, I met her grandfather (not her mom), he gave me his cell number and his permission, and I let her choose her backdrop so I could take her picture and then text it to him. I hope she finds a way to print them. She knows what's up. And she must know that printed photos of herself are important, to chase down a stranger with a camera. She probably doesn't know how much seeing printed photos of herself regularly can boost her self-confidence and improve her mental health, though.

Research from the 1980’s shows that photos placed strategically around your home reinforce your kid’s self-confidence and self-image. Seeing themselves in photos, particularly with others, helps kids know that they're loved, that they're important enough to be immortalized in pictures, and that they have a role to play within a family unit.

An archived article from the Baltimore Sun talks about this: "It's important not only to be photographed in ways that indicate caring, nurturing, love and success, but also to see those images and take them in," says David Krauss, co-author with Jerry Fryrear of "Photo Therapy and Mental Health."

It’s no good to take dozens, hundreds, thousands of photos during your child’s life and then leave them hidden on a hard drive or on your phone. Kids need to see themselves in photos regularly, and you can be strategic about how to make that happen. I have a quick audit for you to run through for your own home so you can ensure you're grabbing that low-hanging self-esteem fruit during Mental Health Awareness month:

Here's how you can audit your house with some easy questions:

• Are there pictures of your kid displayed in your house in prominent areas, where your family hangs out?

• Are there pictures of your kid with family members they love, including you?

• Do you have a family photo near your child's bed?

• Do you have a photo of your child doing something they currently love, near their bed?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, then you know what to work on next. If you answered yes to all of those questions, you get a gold star, and can move on to the bonus round:

How current are those family photos? If the answer is “I don't know,” “Before X child was born” or “more than a year ago," you've got your homework for Mental Health Awareness month.

Not to worry though, I wouldn't assign homework without offering some assistance:

• My favorite local consumer photo printer: Richmond Camera. You can order online and have your prints mailed to you, if going to the store is a barrier for you. Color, tone, and quality of the prints are top notch.

• My favorite national consumer photo printer: mpix. The consumer wing of a professional photo printer, they're not local but they have excellent print quality as well. If you're price shopping, I would compare this apple to the apple above, not the orange of Costco or Walgreens.

• My favorite online printer for fun types of prints: Parabo Press. They offer huge engineering prints, calendars, square Polaroid-looking prints, etc. Prints don't have to be fancy to be effective. Parabo's IG account has some great ideas for fun ways to display your favorite photos.

And of course, I should mention that all of my family photo sessions include a triple digit print credit for use in my print shop, where you order what you need and I worry about getting it printed and delivered to you.

Have questions about printing your own photos? Email me by clicking here.