Children's Academic Success Linked to How Parents Play With Toddlers

08 Mar 2012 - 5:00 PST
The ways in which parents engage with their children at age two predicts their children's future academic outcomes, according to results from a 15 year study.

The study was conducted in 1996, by researchers from Utah State University's department of Family, Consumer and Human Development (FCHD). In order to find out the extent of influence early parent-child engagement has on children's future academic success, the team examined families participating in the "U.S. Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project." Results from the study will be published in an upcoming special issue on fathers in the Family Science journal.

According to the researchers, parent-child activities demonstrated to have a positive impact on children's future academic outcomes, include:
Elaborating on the words, actions, and pictures in a book or on unique attributes or objects
Relating book text or play activity to the child's experience
Encouraging and engaging in pretend play
Presenting activities in an organized sequence of steps

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242651.php