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.

研究人员称，近三分之二的孩子睡前想让家长花更多时间给他们讲故事，并且大部分孩子喜欢让妈妈而不是爸爸来讲故事。

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.

此项调查显示，三至四岁的小孩子最喜欢多听故事，超过四分之三的小孩子希望家长给他们讲更多的故事。

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

在三至八岁孩子中，超过半数表示和家长在一起时，他们最喜欢的游戏就是听父母讲故事。

"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.

儿童心理学家理查德·沃尔夫森说："研究结果表明，在孩子的生活里，讲故事这种传统活动仍是强大的知识和情感来源。"

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.

根据一项对五百名年龄为三至八岁的英国小孩调查显示，在游戏活动榜单上，讲故事的排名高于看电视和打游戏。82%的受访小孩称，和家长一起讲故事使他们睡得更香。

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.

研究人员称，孩子最喜欢听妈妈讲故事，她们使用有趣的声音来给不同的角色配音，或者使用自己发出的特殊音效来展开故事情节。

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.

当爸爸妈妈都不在时，明星来讲故事也不错：超过30%的孩子称，他们睡前想听《哈里·波特》中的明星丹尼尔。·雷德克里夫讲故事，青少年偶像扎克·埃夫隆、麦莉·赛勒斯和艾玛·沃特森紧随其后。

"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.

沃尔夫森说："家长很难找到时间和孩子一起讲故事，但讲故事可以建立紧密的亲子关系，对孩子的成长至关重要。"