Why Feeding Wild Birds Can Help Your Childs Mental Health
As schools head back to start a new term, parents are always keen to keep a check on their child’s mental health. Stress and anxiety can easily build up in our little ones during this transition, but did you know that feeding wild birds can help your child’s mental health? It’s one of the simplest back to school mental health tips we can offer.
With all the time many families have spent in gardens and outdoor spaces over the summer, loads of us have discovered the joy of watching and feeding wild birds. We can’t help but think that caring for wild birds really is a brilliant activity for kids to get involved in, offering so many benefits for the whole family with the added bonus of not costing a fortune in time, money, or energy.
Throughout this guide, we’ll look at the mental health benefits of bird feeding and share our honest Henry Bell Wild Bird Care review to help you choose the right products for your garden. We think these practical back to school mental health tips could be just what your family needs for a calmer, more connected start to the new term.
Getting Closer to Nature Benefits our Mood
One of our greatest joys as a family has been taking regular walks around our local area. Many of us have found this a brilliant chance to reconnect with village life, grow new friendships with neighbours, explore what’s right on our doorstep, and discover parts of local nature we once walked past without noticing.
These walks have been invaluable in reconnecting us all with the slower pace of nature and serve as a noticeable reminder of how being in contact with nature really does benefit our mood. Understanding why feeding wild birds can help your child’s mental health starts with recognising this fundamental connection to the natural world.
We’re blessed here in West Wales to have some stunning woodlands and nature trails to take the kids to. Interestingly, in Japan they place so much importance on this that they have a national health programme launched back in the eighties called forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku as it’s known there.
Forest bathing has been scientifically proven to improve your health and simply involves spending more time around trees. Not running amongst them or working out, just spending time quietly observing nature near the trees, including all the wild birds.
Aside from the health benefits of breathing in fresh air, trees emit oils called phytoncides to protect themselves from germs and insects, and these oils actually help our immune systems. Additionally, it’s been confirmed that forests lower our heart rate and blood pressure whilst reducing stress hormones.
We know people jest about “hug a tree, it’ll cheer you up,” but forest baths genuinely reduce depression and boost energy levels. For us, woodland walks became the perfect way for the kids to escape from technology whilst improving their wellbeing. The grown-ups enjoyed the de-stressing benefits too.
Feeding Birds in our Garden Helps Boost our Mental Health
Inspired by our love of these nature walks and research from the University of Exeter, we decided to bring more wildlife closer to home by taking up back garden bird watching as a family. We planted new trees in our garden and started putting out food for the birds to increase our chances of seeing more feathered friends.
The University of Exeter research proved that watching birds near your home is good for your mental health. They found that people living in neighbourhoods with more birds, shrubs, and trees are less likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress. Many outdoor experts have since explained how bird watching can help reduce levels of anxiety, depression, and stress by keeping your mind calm, active, and entertained. This is exactly why feeding wild birds can help your child’s mental health, especially during challenging times like returning to school.
Ways Children Benefit from Feeding Wild Birds
School life can be a struggle for some children, with them finding the daily schedule and expectations difficult, leaving them nervous or feeling overwhelmed about each school day. These practical back to school mental health tips can make a real difference.
Imagine if a simple hobby of feeding birds could bring them a sense of calm, giving them something to look forward to when returning home from school to check on their outdoor friends in the safe haven of their own garden.
Understanding why feeding wild birds can help your child’s mental health becomes clear when you see these brilliant benefits:
Improve Wildlife Knowledge – Children learn about local wildlife, different food preferences for each species, and how birds help with garden pest control and pollination.
Improve Brain Functions – Spanish research showed children raised in greener neighbourhoods had more neural connections in brain regions tied to working memory and attention.
Stimulate Senses – Getting outside into new scenery keeps their mind active or peaceful. Bird watching can be like meditation, positively impacting mental health.
Help Develop Empathy – Watching birds interact daily helps children learn personalities and behaviours, building emotional skills like caring for outdoor pets.
Increases Nature Exposure – Daily bird feeding prevents nature deficit disorder, an increasing concern for parents worried about behavioural problems linked to reduced outdoor time.
Increases Exercise – Walking around the garden releases endorphins, reducing stress and boosting mood.
Reduces Boredom – Bird feeding provides entertainment requiring minimal skill, money, or time.
The Henry Bell Wild Bird Care Collection
When we decided to feed the birds in our garden, we didn’t want to make mistakes that would hurt our local birds, so chose to play it safe and use prefilled feeders from a trusted source so we used various products from the Henry Bell Wild Bird Care Collection.
With over 20 years’ experience in the bird food industry the Henry Bell Wild Bird Care Collection comprises of over 140 products catering for every type of garden bird and we found them easily to get hold of as they in hundreds of garden centres, pet shops and online.
Tried and Tested Henry Bell Wild Bird Food Products
The Henry Bell essential collection are pre-filled feeders which look good, are affordable and designed to enable wild bird wellbeing. We found them so easy for the kids to unwrap and hang up and so far, have used the ready to feed seed mix, peanut and fat ball feeder and found that they are definitely well loved as we have found them fab at attracting many different birds into our garden.
Additionally, we found the Henry Bell ready to feed collection an easy-to-use option for us, they were nice and quick for the kids to unwrap and hang up. So far, we have used the suet coconut, which are filled with a suet blended with seeds and we have also used the black sunflower seed bell, they cost a few pounds each making them affordable, and we found that by using different food in our garden it attracts different types of birds. We found both these to be nice and sturdy when hanging up so didn’t find it hard to find the perfect spot to place them.
Perfect Hobby to Gift Children
We’ve thoroughly loved watching local birds visit our back garden, and the kids remain fascinated by learning each bird’s personality, favourite foods, and expecting certain species at different times.
As children settle into school routine, bird feeding slots perfectly into their weekday schedule. We’ve installed a bird bath and built nest boxes for winter. We think our Henry Bell Wild Bird Care review shows how quality equipment attracts different species to your garden.
Animals have a proven calming effect, and this has definitely been our experience. We’ve enjoyed learning optimal food placement through trial and error. Our nervous little blue tit only eats when we nestle feeders amongst leafy plants where he feels safer.
Feeding wild birds has given us greater appreciation of our surroundings and beauty just outside our door. For grown-ups, this nature connection restores attention and counters mental fatigue that busy family life brings each new school term.
Ready to support your family through the new school term? Browse our back to school section for everything needed for seamless transition. From checklists and stationery to wellness tips like these back to school mental health tips, we’ve got resources for successful term ahead.