Bird-watching may help aid a child's development

Backyard bird-watching with children may pay a number of unexpected dividends.

That's because the early experiences in children's lives affect how their brains develop and lay the foundation for intelligence, emotional health and moral development, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children. This healthy development depends on nurturing and dependable relationships.

"Bird-watching helps meet the needs of developing young minds and can start as soon as a child can walk. It can also help improve the bond between parent and child," said Stephen Kress, Wingscapes birding expert and author of several books, including "The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds" and "The Audubon Backyard Birdwatch."

Here are a few tips to get children started in backyard birdwatching to help their development.

•Hang a bird feeder in the yard where children can easily watch it every day. By helping young kids build their own bird feeder, they have an additional reason to take an interest in watching birds.

•Have children keep a list of the birds they see and discuss the list each day or week. Build memory skills by talking about the birds' characteristics, such as wing color and pattern.

Children can be taught about those characteristics with a bird camera, such as the Wingscapes BirdCam, a weatherproof, motion-activated digital camera that captures high-resolution photos and videos of birds even if nobody is there.

•Create a scrapbook or a website using free software with photos or videos of the birds.

•Have children email the images or video clips to a friend or relative or share them on Wingscapes.com, Flickr, YouTube or other social media websites.

This article provided by North American Precis Syndicate Inc.