Does he comfort other children when they are upset?
If so, say a silent thanks --your child's prosocial skills may predict good reading skills by the third grade.
That's the finding from a study published in the January/February 2006 issue of the journal Child Development.
The study, from researchers from Stanford University, also finds that children with low reading skills in first and third grade are more likely to have relatively high aggressive behavior in third and fifth grades.
"Children's social behavior can promote or undermine their learning," explains lead author Sarah Miles, a Ph.D. student at Stanford University, "and their academic performance may have implications for their social behavior."
Although previous studies have shown that social skills and academic achievement were linked, this study is the first to look at these relationships over time, examine both aggressive and prosocial behavior and focus on low-income children who are particularly at risk for difficulties in school.
The difference in the patterns found between aggressive behavior and literacy achievement, and prosocial behavior and literacy achievement, suggest that these two behaviors do not represent opposite ends of a continuum, noted Ms.
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