We all know reading matters.

It helps children build vocabulary, follow stories, absorb sentence patterns and become stronger at comprehension.

But what about TV?

Historically, TV gets treated or perceived as the enemy of learning.

Too much screen time. Too much noise. Too much staring into the middle distance with anxiety attack-inducing music and sound-effects.

And yes, if a child is just sitting there for hours with no thought, no conversation and no engagement, it’s probably not doing much for their English, or communication skills.

But TV itself isn’t always the problem, it’s what happens around it.

Used properly, TV can be a brilliant prompt for creative writing, inference and storytelling.

Inference is something we get asked about this a lot and parents often tell me they’re unsure how to help their child ‘get the hidden meaning’ in a text. They notice that comprehension questions asking for subtle understanding seem to throw them off.

Here’s the thing: inference is everywhere. We’re all making inferences, all the time, on a daily basis. Inference is not just a reading skill, it’s a thinking skill. This means there are loads of things you can do outside of reading to help your child.