This is why you should turn on the TV subtitles for your child

Even if you want to reduce screen time in your house, this is interesting to know

With all of the streaming services and YouTube videos we have available, sneaking education into their fun time has never been easier.

The introduction of smartphones — basically a portable mini TV — means any boredom or tantrums can be tackled instantly and on the go.

However, new research has shown that, regardless of what screen your child is viewing their favourite shows or videos from, the subtitles should be on.

The Access Education research found that subtitles may double the chances of kids leaving school as proficient readers

The content that they're viewing may provide them with important visual knowledge on numeracy, the colour wheel, and so on, but turning the captions on can boost their literacy skills.

Henry Warren, co-founder of the Turn on the Subtitles campaign, believes parents should switch on the captions when kids are watching something as it gives them a chance to boost their literary skills.

"Turning on the subtitles can give children an opportunity to increase their vocabulary and help turn them into proficient readers," Warren told The Times: “

“If you turn on the subtitles, then in just a year kids would ‘read’ the same number of words that are in all the Harry Potter, Narnia and Lord of the Rings books as well as everything Roald Dahl wrote.”

The research also found that showing children TV shows with subtitles positively impacted the reading ability of those aged four to seven.

The study came to these findings by analysing transcripts from 1,000 episodes of a popular series, with Peppa Pig having the highest number of high-frequency words.

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