‘Less than a third’ read to children
Less than a third of UK parents read to their children every day, according to a survey.
Two-thirds of parents and grandparents (67%) believe that modern technology in the home distracts them from storytelling while just under a third (29%) are too tired for tales, another third (29%) get home from work too late and 22% are busy with other activities at home, the poll for Disney found.
Although just 30% of parents read to their children daily, 51% say storytime allows them to spend quality time together and 47% know their children enjoy having books read to them.
The poll of 1,000 parents and grandparents of children under the age of six found mothers are most likely to read to their youngsters (48%), followed by fathers (21%) and grandparents (17%).
It also revealed that 58% of women were read to when they were children compared with 44% of men.
Television and radio presenter Zoe Ball, who is helping to launch Disney’s Winnie the Pooh Storytelling Academy, which offers tips for reading to children, said: “When I was young my dad (the presenter Johnny Ball) would enthusiastically read tales of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and friends to me, and put on daft voices to really bring the story to life.
“These are memories which I treasure and now I can share those special bedtime stories with my own children.”
Disney spokeswoman Justine Finch said: “We set up the Winnie the Pooh Storytelling Academy as a valuable online resource where parents and grandparents who face storytelling challenges such as a lack of confidence or distractions can go to pick up tips and tricks from our panel of experts.
“In this hyper-connected world we want to help them to keep the art of storytelling alive for the next generation via a whole host of media like iPad apps, audio books and the traditional hardback, to create memorable shared family experiences.”
YouGov surveyed 1,000 UK parents and grandparents of children under six years old in August.
Do you read stories to your grandchildren?
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