An argument is being waged over research on children’s language

The findings of a recent study from the Bofill Foundation, an education think-tank in Barcelona, were both obvious and surprising. It showed that children whose parents read with them had a clear advantage over those whose parents did not—a learning gap equivalent to about half a year’s schooling. That is the obvious part: if you read to your children it helps them read, too. But researchers also found that, contrary to popular opinion, supervising children’s homework is not particularly helpful. More useful is setting a regular place and time for them to do their studies.