Almost two-thirds of children want their parents to spend more time reading to them before bed, and most prefer Mum's storytelling to Dad's, researchers said.

    研究人員稱，近三分之二的孩子睡前想讓家長花更多時間給他們講故事，并且大部分孩子喜歡讓媽媽而不是爸爸來講故事。

    They conducted a study that showed younger children aged 3-4 were most hungry for more stories, with over three-quarters saying they wished their parents read to them more often.

    此項調查顯示，三至四歲的小孩子最喜歡多聽故事，超過四分之三的小孩子希望家長給他們講更多的故事。

    More than half of all children aged 3-8 said story time was their favourite pastime with their parents.

    在三至八歲孩子中，超過半數表示和家長在一起時，他們最喜歡的游戲就是聽父母講故事。

    "The results of our research confirm the traditional activity of storytelling continues to be a powerful learning and emotional resource in children's lives," said child psychologist Richard Woolfson.

    兒童心理學家理查德·沃爾夫森說："研究結果表明，在孩子的生活里，講故事這種傳統活動仍是強大的知識和情感來源。"

    Storytelling ranked higher than television or video games among pastimes for kids, and 82 percent said reading a story with their parents helped them sleep better, according the survey of 500 children aged 3-8 in Britain.

    根據一項對五百名年齡為三至八歲的英國小孩調查顯示，在游戲活動榜單上，講故事的排名高于看電視和打游戲。82%的受訪小孩稱，和家長一起講故事使他們睡得更香。

    The best storytellers were mothers who used funny voices to illustrate different characters or made their own special sound effects to keep the story moving, researchers said.

    研究人員稱，孩子最喜歡聽媽媽講故事，她們使用有趣的聲音來給不同的角色配音，或者使用自己發出的特殊音效來展開故事情節。

    When mum and dad are not at hand, celebrities will do: over 30 percent of children said they would like to hear a bedtime story from Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, with teen idols Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson trailing close behind.

    當爸爸媽媽都不在時，明星來講故事也不錯：超過30%的孩子稱，他們睡前想聽《哈里·波特》中的明星丹尼爾。·雷德克里夫講故事，青少年偶像扎克·埃夫隆、麥莉·賽勒斯和艾瑪·沃特森緊隨其后。

    "It can be very difficult for parents to find the time to read with their children, but these moments can help build strong bonds and play a vital part in their child's development," said Woolfson.

    沃爾夫森說："家長很難找到時間和孩子一起講故事，但講故事可以建立緊密的親子關系，對孩子的成長至關重要。"