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.

    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.

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

    "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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    "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.

    有研究人員稱，近三分之二的兒童睡前想讓家長花更多時間給他們講故事，并且大部分兒童喜歡讓媽媽而不是爸爸來講。

    研究人員開展的此項調查發現，三至四歲的小寶寶最想多聽故事，超過四分之三的小寶寶稱希望家長更經常給他們講故事。

    在三至八歲兒童中，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。

    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。”

    根據一項針對五百名年齡為三至八歲的英國兒童調查，在游戲活動榜單上，講故事排名高于看電視和打游戲。82%的受訪兒童稱，和家長一起講故事使他們睡得更香。

    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。

    當爸爸媽媽都不在時，明星來講故事也不錯：超過30%的兒童稱，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。

    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。”