Parents think electronic media can help children under the age of six to learn vital skills, research suggests.

A Sheffield University study of more than 1,800 parents, part-funded by the BBC, said the media could have a positive impact on young children.

Other studies have said TV is damaging. The Sheffield team said people often saw new technologies as "unhealthy".

But parents it interviewed found that - used in a measured way - they could be "extremely useful tools".

Parents` views

The study, led by Dr Jackie Marsh, said children were "growing up in a digital world", immersed in new technologies and the media from the day they were born.

Parents said their young children generally led well-balanced lives in which popular culture and media were only part of their leisure activities.

"Engagement with media is generally active, not passive, and promotes play, speaking and listening and reading."

It was primarily a social, not individual, activity, taking place most often with other family members.

Parents felt their children learned a great deal from film and television and that they had "a positive impact on many aspects of their lives".

They also felt media education should be included in the school curriculum from a very young age and that schools should be doing more in this regard.


BBCNews
sections: Society, World News, Hi-Tech