Letting your child watch television for hours may not seem like the best thing for their education.
But scientists say it could actually improve their reading skills, provided they turn on subtitles.
Researchers have found that children aged four to seven are twice as likely to become good readers if they watch TV with subtitles turned on.
And popular cartoons like Peppa Pig and Bluey even contain a lot of “high frequency words” that can help your child progress in their reading.
Henry Warren, co-founder of the Turn on the Subtitles campaign, said: “I like to think of it a bit like sneaking vegetables into dinner: the kids don’t notice, but you know you’re telling them the greatest good. .’
Researchers say watching cartoons like Peppa Pig could be good for your kids, as long as you turn on the subtitles.
Peppa Pig is the best show for your children to watch because it uses the most ‘high frequency words’ that children can learn to recognize (stock photo)
It is estimated that British children spend an average of 3 hours and 16 minutes watching TV every day.
However, scientists say it’s not a waste of time, as long as parents remember to turn on the subtitles.
Mr Warren said The temperature: “Turning on subtitles can give children the opportunity to expand their vocabulary and help them become good readers.
“If you turn on subtitles, then in just one year, children will “read” the same number of words that are in all the Harry Potter, Narnia and Lord of the Rings books, as well as everything else Roald Dahl wrote.”
The science behind this unexpected benefit relies on the fact that subtitles cannot be easily ignored while on screen.
A landmark 1997 study by researchers at the University of Leuven found that children and adults exhibit “machine reading behavior.”
Children aged four to seven improved their reading skills after watching popular children’s shows like Bluey with subtitles turned on.
This means that whenever subtitles are played on the screen, anyone watching them can’t help but watch and follow them.
As children already follow the subtitles, even if they do not yet know how to read them, they build the association between sounds and written words.
Research suggests that this helps children develop their reading skills more quickly than they otherwise would have, especially if they don’t read a lot of printed material.
These mechanisms are most effective when the words in the subtitles are those that children would encounter frequently.
Researchers from educational software maker Access Education analyzed transcripts of 1,000 episodes of the most popular children’s TV shows.
They found that Peppa Pig came out on top as the show with the highest number of high-frequency words.
On average, 50 percent of the 100 most frequent words appear in each episode of the popular children’s cartoon.
Campaigners say watching TV shows like Thomas & Friends with subtitles turned on can double the chances of children becoming good readers.
Next in line are Bing and Bluey, with 49% of the most common words appearing in each episode.
Fireman Sam also performed very well with 48 percent of the top 100 words appearing in each episode.
An Access Education spokesperson said: “Shows like Peppa Pig, Bing and Bluey could help children become more confident in their reading and, if watched with subtitles, could double the chances that children leave school as competent readers. »
This month, Turn on the Subtitles launched its latest campaign with Access Education, calling on 40 million households to make the change.
Ultimately, Turn on the Subtitles says it wants a billion children to use subtitles on television by the end of 2027.
Their campaign has already led to the launch of Sky Q’s Literacy Zone, which broadcasts children’s favorite cartoons with subtitles.
This latest campaign has the support of Kung Fu Panda star Jack Black.
In a video, Jack Black said: “Just press the button and you’ll blow their little minds with knowledge.” » They will learn to read without even realizing it. ‘
The research was published in an article from The Access Group.