Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Leading article: Kill the televisions

Thursday 06 April 2006 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

It is a frightening statistic. Forty per cent of children aged four and under have their own television sets in their bedrooms, according to the National Literacy Trust. Small wonder, then, that teachers are having to devote more of their time to instilling speaking and listening skills into today's children when they start school. The Basic Skills Agency therefore deserves support for its "talk to me" campaign. It wants schools to spend more time talking to parents about the need to engage their children in conversation. Persuading them to get rid of those personal TVs for the under-fours would be a step in the right direction.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in