Newbie question ~ Can this camera w/what is included take close up pics from say 30 to 50 feet?

I have never owned anything but cheaper model point & shoot (casio exilim z9 & Nikon coolpix s210) & sadly I can never get good zoom shots of my kids from any sort of distance with the above mentioned 3x zoom cameras. I would very much like to take the next step & upgrade to a much better camera. At first I was looking at the extended zoom range cameras (Canon PS SX110 IS) but then in my research stumbled upon the enty level SLR & became smitten. I would like the option of having camera raw (to learn about in the future) & realize that the canon & other ext zoom options I was looking at will not allow for camera raw & I will indeed need to purchase a SLR correct? Thank you for your time & so sorry for such a novice question.

Thank you for explaining exactly what the mm lens('s) relays to in zoom ~ I think I may have found a camera that will have the capability to shoot in raw (for I do wish to some day learn more about photo editing & have since purchased Adobe P.S. C.S. 3) ~ I found a non DSLR, an extended zoom which is called a "Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18K" which states that it has 18x zoom plus the ability to shoot in raw (I was under the impression that only SLR had the ability to shoot in raw) so I was very happy to find the Lumix ~ it is to arrive on Tuesday! Thank you again for taking the time to answer my question!