Asst Prof Tan highlighted that shared activities are especially important for younger children.
“If a child reads alone, the child is just learning a language. But when a child is reading with the parents, it is not just about the words on the pages,” she said.
“It is about the back-and-forth interaction, learning how to recognise facial expressions and emotions as they interact with their parents.”
If parents want to include devices in their children’s lives, they should not leave them alone with an iPad, for example, but sit down with their children and use it as an educational tool, said Asst Prof Tan.
