Poor kids with laptops read less, do more chores - study

Poor kids in the developing world given laptops to help them make big educational leaps may wind up doing more household chores and reading less than children without the computers, according to a new study in Peru. The study, which looked at a program that gave 1,000 laptops to underprivileged primary school children in Lima, could temper enthusiasm for investments in laptop distribution as a path to better academic performance. The working paper by the U.S.-based National Bureau of Economic Research said children may do more chores because the laptops encourage them to spend more time at home - giving their parents more opportunities to nag them into washing clothes and cleaning up. The group also said parents might be rewarding their children with time on their laptops in exchange for completing chores. "The largest effects of computer use seem to be associated with playing computer games and, to some extent, with listening to music on the computer," wrote lead author Diether Beuermann. While the authors found children spent more time on computers, improvements in their cognitive skills were "small and insignificant." They did not offer an explanation for the reported decline...