Here's a way to improve your children's reading and it won't cost you a penny.
You won't have to get up off the sofa either.
Apparently turning on the subtitles while your child is watching TV will improve their reading, reports the Manchester Evening News .
And you thought subtitles were just for people with hearing impairments.
Former US president Bill Clinton was urging parents to do this nine years ago and a campaign, Turn On The Subtitles (TOTS), is gaining ground.
Studies across the world suggest that turning on the subtitles during children's programmes – particularly for children aged six to 10 – doubles the chance of your child becoming a proficient reader, says Oli Barrett who is behind the TOTS campaign.
Mr Barrett's campaign was inspired by the work of Brij Kothari, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and founder of PlanetRead.
After listening to Brij's valuable piece of advice – 'If you want to teach a nation to read: Just turn on the subtitles' – Oli and his friend Henry Warren, who's also behind the campaign, took various pieces of evidence to the UK National Literacy Trust (NLT), to get their take on the issue.
And they received overwhelming support from the man at the top, Jonathan Douglas, who said: "The international evidence base suggesting that children respond well to having subtitles on when they’re watching television is compelling.
Oli said: "When I found out about the powerful link between subtitles and literacy, I couldn't believe more hadn't been done to join these dots here in the UK.
"Henry Warren and I approached the National Literacy Trust and they were keen to partner with us.
"We set of on the Tots journey last month and see this as the beginning. Our job now is to share the idea with broadcasters, including the BBC.
"Also with programme makers, politicians and parents. I'm confident that in time, children's programmes will be subtitled by default. It's such a simple change which can make a huge difference. "
