TV daily diet for 80pc of Kiwi toddlers

GLUED: Most 2-year-olds in New Zealand watch TV every day.

The majority of Kiwi 2-year-olds are watching television every day, a new report suggests, but a Wairarapa early childhood teacher says books still have their place.

The report on 2-year-olds has just been released by Auckland University's government-funded Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study team, which is tracking the early lives of almost 7000 Auckland and Waikato children.

It showed about 80 per cent were watching TV or DVDs every day, while 66 per cent had books read to them every day.

According to the report, many 2-year-olds could use technology with ease and the majority were spending an average of one-and-a-half hours each day watching television.

Carterton Preschool teacher Megan McMillen said the preschool was big on book reading and literacy to prepare children for school.

"Through reading to children from an early age it exposes them to a rich source of language both written and spoken."

For parents, reading to children helped children recognise that books could be used for learning, and they could become "delighted and amused and find comfort in a good story".

"When children view books as an enjoyable past time they will develop a positive disposition towards literacy learning throughout their schooling years."

Singing songs to children also helped to form memories that helped them learn to read, she said.

More than half of Kiwi 2-year-olds were in regular early childhood education, primarily because of their parents' work commitments, but also because parents hoped early education had a positive impact on the social and language development of their children, the report said.

A further key finding was the high level of mobility in Kiwi families, with about one third having moved house since their child was 9 months old.

About 55 per cent lived in family-owned accommodation, and about 45 per cent in rented accommodation.

Study director Associate Professor Susan Morton said the high mobility, the diversity of the environment, and the changing circumstances of families presented a challenge as to how health, education and social services were best delivered to children during their earliest years.

Although the children and their families were recruited from the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waikato District Health Board regions, they are now living across New Zealand, and overseas.

APNZ