Children who spend time in front of the television or computer may benefit cognitively more than if they were hanging out with friends, alone at home or in after-school care.
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According to a new paper to be presented at a National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling seminar today, how children spend their time makes a huge impact on their cognitive abilities and future life prospects.
And media may not be as bad an influence as it is often painted.
Using 24-hour time allocation diaries of children taking part in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, University of Technology Sydney labour economist Mario Fiorini says the number one best way for a child to develop their cognitive abilities was to spend time with their parents engaged in educational pursuits together - such as reading, doing school work, helping around the home or talking together.
According to the paper, How the Allocation of Children's Time Affects Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Development, co-written by Dr Fiorini and Professor Michael Keane of the University of NSW, any re-allocation of children's time which ''favours this kind of activity by substituting away from time in general care, bed or before/after-school care would have a positive effect on skills''.
The effect is estimated to be comparable to the effect of increasing parental education - one of the biggest factors impacting on childhood cognitive ability and future education potential.
Dr Fiorini said that the more ''surprising'' part of his study was that time spent using media such as TV and computers ''does not seem necessarily detrimental to development. For example, for reading skills, it is at least as productive as time in before/after-school care.''
Dr Fiorini said the area was ripe for further research as the benefits of particular media had yet to be broken down.
''We are not saying parents should throw their kids in front of the TV,'' he said.
''There might well be big differences in how exposure to different sorts of media improves performance or makes no difference and that is an area which requires more research.''
The study found girls spent more time than boys in educational activities with parents and it seemed to have a stronger positive effect. Boys spent more time using media.
The higher the mother's level of education the more likely she was to engage her children in educational pastimes and social activities.
The offspring of more educated mothers also spent an average 1.6 hours less per week using media.
In investigating childhood behaviour, the study found how children spent their time made little difference, and poor behaviour was linked most strongly to a lack of discipline from mothers.
A child's demeanour, confidence and ability to get on with others was ''strongly influenced by parenting style, particularly a mother's warmth and effective discipline,'' the study said.
''A parenting style that combines effective (but not harsh) discipline with parental warmth and affection leads to the best behavioral outcomes,'' it found.
Either leniency, or excessive harshness in discipline, led to worse outcomes - such as a child lacking confidence, being withdrawn, immature or acting out.
The paper has been submitted for publication in the American Journal of Labour Economics, with Dr Fiorini saying productivity and workforce participation was strongly and linked to childhood experience and development.
