As the summer holidays begin, parents may feel concerned their children will “forget how to spell their own names” during the long school break.

Or there may be worries about forgetting times tables, slipping reading levels and generally falling behind. Parents may wonder if it’s better to maintain some kind of academic routine during the break.

The short answer: a light touch is plenty.

Researchers have studied the idea school students have some degree of “summer learning loss” for more than 100 years.

But more recent research, such as a 2020 US study, suggests these effects are uneven (they apply more to some kids than others), and far less dramatic than the folklore implies.

Child also

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