TAKING young children to a music festival can help them be more adventurous in later life, research suggests.

A study by telecoms giant O2 indicated that the younger a child is when they are taken to a live music event, the more likely they are to try new activities as they get older.

Even taking children as young as four to a festival can have a positive impact, according to the report.

One in three adults who went to their first music event aged between four and six say they often try new things, compared with fewer than one in 10 who did not go to a gig until they were 22.

Catherine Loveday, professor at the University of Westminster, who helped with the study, said: "We have known for a while that exposing children to lots of new foods from a young age is linked to them developing a more adventurous palate and it looks like the same thing might be true of music."

Nina Bibby, chief marketing officer at O2, said: "Music connects us on an emotional level so it's perhaps no surprise to see that if we are exposed to music from a young age, this has a huge impact to growing up and shaping our approach and attitude to other aspects of our life."

The report was based on a survey of 2,000 adults.