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,孩子們睡前聽故事的古老傳統(tǒng)似乎逐漸衰退。一項新的研究披露,大約三分之一的家長睡前不給孩子講故事。這項研究來自英國在線零售商Littlewoods.com。研究還發(fā)現(xiàn),與聽故事相比,多達50%的孩子寧肯選擇看電視或玩電腦游戲。研究人員進一步發(fā)現(xiàn),5%的英國七歲以下兒童甚至連一本書都沒有。家長不給孩子講睡前故事的理由多種多樣。13%的家長認為沒有時間,9%的家長說他們“壓力太大”,其他人則表示他們的孩子不感興趣。
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."
Littlewoods與英國流行歌手娜塔夏·漢米爾頓合作試圖逆轉(zhuǎn)這種趨勢。他們?yōu)槠邭q以下的孩子舉行了睡前故事創(chuàng)作比賽。31歲的漢米爾頓告訴記者:“看到那些各種各樣的故事創(chuàng)意,我非常激動,迫不及待地想看看孩子們創(chuàng)作出什么故事。選出冠軍并不容易。”她描述了自己作為母親給孩子講睡前故事的樂趣:“作為三個孩子的母親,我知道給孩子講睡前故事多么開心。”Littlewoods.com一位發(fā)言人表示:“我們理解家長和孩子共度歡樂時光多么重要,講睡前故事正是一個很好的方式。”