新奇事件簿 1/3兒童無睡前閱讀
It seems the age-old tradition of children getting a bedtime story before sleeping is on the wane in Britain. A new study reveals that around a third of parents do not read bedtime stories to their children. The study, from British online retailer Littlewoods.com, also found that up to 50 per cent of children would prefer to watch TV or play computer games than be read a story. Researchers further discovered that a paltry five per cent of British under-sevens do not even own a book. Parents came up with a myriad of reasons why they did not read to their little ones. Thirteen per cent of parents blamed a lack of time, nine per cent said they are just "too stressed", while others said their children were simply not interested.
在英國，歷史悠久的睡前閱讀正在逐漸隕落。一項新的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)有三分之一的父母不會在睡前為孩子閱讀。來自網上零售商“小森林網”的研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)比起閱讀故事，更喜歡看電視或是打游戲的孩子數(shù)量達到了50%。研究人員進一步發(fā)現(xiàn)7歲以下孩子中有5%的兒童沒有書。父母不給孩子閱讀的原因也是多種多樣。有13%的父母沒有時間，9%的父母稱他們感到很有“壓力”，還有人說孩子不感興趣。
Littlewoods has teamed up with British pop star Natasha Hamilton to try and reverse this trend. They have launched a bedtime story writing competition for children under seven. Ms Hamilton, 31, told reporters: "I'm really excited to see all the different story ideas and can't wait to see what the kids come up with. Choosing a winner's not going to be easy." She spoke about her own joy as a mother in reading bedtime stories, saying: "As a mum of three, I know just how enjoyable reading bedtime stories to my kids is." A spokesman from Littlewoods.com said: "We appreciate how important it is for parents and kids to spend quality time together, and bedtime stories are a great way to do just this."
為了試圖扭轉這一情況，“小森林網”與英國流行歌手娜塔莎·哈米頓進行了合作。他們?yōu)?歲以下的孩子建立了睡前故事寫作競賽。今年31歲的哈米頓對記者說：“我非常高興能夠看到這么多的構思，我已經等不及想看看孩子們的想法了。挑選最終的獲勝者不是一件容易事。”她談及了她作為母親為孩子進行睡前閱讀時的喜悅感，稱：“作為一名三歲孩子的母親，給孩子進行睡前閱讀是一件愉悅的事情。”“小森林網”發(fā)言人稱：“父母與孩子一起度過時光，這非常重要，而睡前閱讀是一種非常不錯的方式。”
