The photography of children falls into two main areas of interest - images of family and friends or pictures taken when travelling abroad.
We tend to photograph our own children, or children with whom we have some sort of relationship, in a very different way from children living in other cultures.
The prime reason for this is that our i approach to the "exotic" is one we are reluctant to apply to the familiar.
For example, when abroad the fact that a child is dirty or is wearing ragged clothing may be the very features that attract our photographic interest.
We may be proud to show this imagery highlighting the different and unfamiliar to' friends or colleagues, yet we would be reluctant to show our own children in anything but a favourable "sanitized" light.
So the challenge is clear: we must find a way to bring the two approaches together, to show more honesty in the photography of our own children while showing more respect in our representation of children from other cultures.
For example, when you are travelling you could try to learn about the games that children play: do they have rhyming games in Mongolia; do the children of the Philippines play "catch"; which version of soccer do they play on the beaches of Zanzibar? Another approach could be to show children from other cultures in roles that might be largely alien to our own - such as working in the fields or factories or active in religious observance.
In the end, by deepening our involvement, we increase both our understanding and our enjoyment.
Such developments can give photography a most exciting and rewarding edge.