Watching TV may Actually Improve Academic Performance Among Kids

A new study conducted by researchers at University of London reveals that children who watch TV for at least three hours a day were academically stronger compared to their peers who watched TV for less than hour a day. The researchers used data from the Millennium Cohort Study which involved more than 11,000 seven year old British children who were tracked since birth.

On comparing the children from the same social class, the researchers found that traditional rules imposed by parents to improve their children’s academic performance, such as insisting on regular meals, gave a six week advantage to children in terms of their reading and writing skills while watching TV for three hours a day gave them a three month advantage compared to watching less than hour of TV a day.

The study, published in the journal Sociology, has its critics with literacy specialist Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood, stating that children who are glued to TV do not become rounded individuals. “If TV becomes the default activity for young children, they are less likely to become rounded individuals”, she said.

Source-Medindia