Bird watching may aid child 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 relationships.

Here are a tips to get children started in backyard bird-watching.

•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.

•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.