Cultural activities encourage academic achievement, says child study

A new study has found that children who spend their free time watching TV or hanging out with friends perform less well in school.

The 'Growing Up In Ireland' study found that nine-year-olds who take part in cultural activities in their spare time have better reading and maths skills than children who watch too much television.

Children from middle class backgrounds are more engaged in cultural activities than those from disadvantaged areas - one in three compared to less than one in 10.

Launching the study, the Education Minister Ruairí Quinn said that parents have a responsibility to make sure their children are taking part in extra-curricular activities.

“The television has become the all-present electronic baby-minder, or baby distracter if you like, and I think an active involvement by parents is part and parcel of the message,” he said.

“The classroom cannot solve everything, and this study shows, in fact, that the home from which you come, and that’s across the social spectrum, can be a nurturing home, or can be one that’s indifferent.”