Child cognitive development gap bridged by engaging parenting activities
- By Kumail Shah -
- Aug 12, 2026
A new study suggests that simple activities like reading and doing puzzles with children may help close the developmental gap between kids from wealthier and less wealthy families.
The study, published in Learning and Individual Differences, monitored the working memory of 15,437 students across the United States from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Working memory, which helps children reason, plan, and follow instructions, is seen as a key factor in early school success.
To measure changes in working memory, researchers asked children to listen to a series of numbers and repeat them back in reverse order, a task that became more challenging as the sequence grew longer.
The study found a clear link between a family’s income and a child’s starting point in working memory. Children from higher-income families began kindergarten with stronger working memory skills.
Kids from less wealthy backgrounds made quick gains when they started school, but their progress slowed much sooner. Meanwhile, children with more resources at home continued to improve longer, leading to a widening gap by the end of fifth grade.
But the study also showed that what parents do at home can make a big difference. When parents often read with their children, do arts and crafts, or work on puzzles together, kids from lower-income families started school with much stronger working memory.
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These activities also helped their progress continue for longer, making their development look more like that of their wealthier classmates.
Other parenting approaches did not change the gap between income groups. The study found that physical punishment, such as spanking, was linked to weaker working memory in children from all backgrounds, but it did not affect the difference between wealthier and less wealthy families.
The researchers noted that relying on self-reported parenting data is a limitation. Still, the findings suggest that simple, engaging activities at home can strongly support a child’s long-term cognitive development.