Children who watch less television and engage in more educational play are outperforming their peers on a range of measures by the age of four, a study shows.

It reveals that having well-educated parents, watching less television, and doing more “achievement-oriented” activities such as looking at books, being read to, talking and singing, are the best foundations for sound development…

Parental education levels influenced how much TV was watched and educational play. Jennifer Baxter, a research fellow at the institute and the co-author of the study, said: “Children may be disposed to do certain activities because they have an academic bent, or what the children do may reflect their parents’ priorities.”

Her fellow co-author, Alan Hayes, the institute’s director, said the findings indicated the importance of preschool education to compensate for different experiences at home. “Preschool can give children the opportunity to catch up,” he said…

Source: Sydney Morning Herald
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