Soaps such as EastEnders helped children learn about relationships

The multi-party study found that 66% of children said they found media such as TV soaps and teen magazines as useful as their mothers.

The study was organised by groups including the BBC and the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC).

The study was the first to focus on 10 to 14-year-olds.

The research came from the study Young People, Media and Personal Relationships, by Professor David Buckingham and Dr Sara Bragg of London University's Institute of Education.

The report suggested "these media are a less embarrassing way to learn about relationships", more informative and easily understandable.

'Highly literate'

"This study shows that children are savvy and literate consumers, who are able to interpret and make judgements about sexual content in the media," said the BSC's research director Andrea Millwood Hargrave.

"They are not blank sheets on whom messages - either 'moral' or irresponsible - can be imprinted," she said.

Children were "highly literate, aware of the television production process and do not necessarily trust what they see in the media," the study said.

It said that soap operas were particularly effective when they were seen not be preaching, but telling stories that encouraged viewers to "make their own judgements".

Communal TV

The report said that children were aware of "mixed messages" in media coverage of sex and relationships, and their ability to interpret this developed with age.

It said that despite 89% of children saying they had televisions in the room, 68% of children said they watched most of their television in a communal room with the rest of their family.

It also said that most children were aware of classification such as the watershed and film ratings. Parents, the study said, were more likely to "negotiate" over what their children could watch rather than banning programmes.

The study also found children used other media outlets, such as radio, pamphlets and posters, for information.

The Advertising Standards Authority, British Board of Film Classification and Independent Television Commission also helped produce the report.