Parents should turn on TV subtitles on shows such as Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol to help their children learn to read, experts say

Letting your child watch hours of TV might not seem like the best thing for their education.

But scientists say that it could actually improve their reading skills - as long as you turn on the subtitles.

Researchers found that children aged four to seven are twice as likely to become proficient readers if they watch TV with subtitles turned on. 

And popular cartoons like Peppa Pig and Bluey even contain a high number of 'high frequency words' that can help your child get ahead with their reading.  

Henry Warren, co-founder of the Turn on the Subtitles campagin, said: 'I like to think of it a bit like sneaking vegetables into dinner — the children don't notice, but you know you're doing them the world of good.'

Researchers say that watching cartoons like Peppa Pig might be good for your children, as long as you turn on the subtitles 

Peppa Pig is the best show for you kids to watch since it uses the most 'high frequency words' which children can learn to recognise (file photo)

It is estimated that UK children spend an average of 3 hours and 16 minutes watching TV each day. 

However, scientists say that this is not wasted time, so long as parents remember to turn on the subtitles. 

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

'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 science behind this unexpected benefit relies on the fact that subtitles cannot easily be ignored while they are on the screen.

One landmark study conducted in 1997 by researchers from the University of Leuven found that both children and adults exhibit 'automatic reading behaviour.'

Children aged four to seven improved their reading ability after watching popular children's shows like Bluey with the subtitles turned on 

This means that whenever subtitles are playing on the screen, anyone watching can't help but look at and follow them.  

Since children are already following along with the subtitles, even if they can't read them yet, they build up the association between the sounds and the written words.

Research suggests that this helps children develop reading skills faster than they otherwise would have - especially if they may not be reading much in print. 

These mechanisms are at their most effective when the words in the subtitles are those that children would frequently encounter.

Researchers from educational software maker Access Education analysed transcripts of 1,000 episodes of the most popular kids' TV shows. 

They found that Peppa Pig came out on top as the show with the highest number of high frequency words.

On average, 50 per cent of the top 100 high frequency words occurred in each episode of the popular children's cartoon.

Campaigners say that watching TV shows like Thomas and Friends with the subtitles turned on can double the chance of children becoming strong readers

This was closely followed by Bing and Bluey with 49 per cent of the most common words appearing each episode.

Fireman Sam also scored very highly with 48 per cent of the top 100 high frequency words appearing in each episode.

A spokesperson for Access Education said: 'Shows like Peppa Pig, Bing and Bluey could help children to become more confident in their reading, and, if watched with the subtitles, could double the chances of children leaving school as proficient readers.'

This month, Turn on the Subtitles launched its latest campaign with Access Education, calling for 40 million households to make the change. 

Eventually, Turn on the Subtitles says it wants a billion children to make use of subtitles on TV by the end of 2027.

Their campaigning has already led to the launch of Sky Q's Literacy Zone, which plays children's favourite cartoons with subtitles.

This latest campaign features an endorsement from  Kung Fu Panda star Jack Black.

In a video, Jack Black said: 'Just press the button and you will blow their tiny little minds with knowledge. They will learn to read without even realising it. '

The research was published in a post by The Access Group.