Jack-a-snorey

Research reveals the Xbox generation still enjoy a good old-fashioned bedtime story


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It seems the Xbox generation actually favour a bedtime story over an electronic nightcap. Hot on the heels of the Government announcing 2008 as the National Year of Reading, new research has been conducted to find out whether the next generation really are less likely to enjoy a book than generations before them. In fact there are more parents reading to their children before bedtime now than there have been in previous generations hinting that interest in reading has increased.

The research, which was commissioned to mark credit card provider, Goldfish's sponsorship of National Storytelling Week, reveals the primary reason parents read to their children is to stimulate their child's imagination. Three quarters read to their kids to bond with them and just over two thirds pick up a book for educational value. No doubt the spectacled sorcerer Harry Potter has a lot to do with an increase in both parents and young people picking up a good read, but the research hints there's a lot more to it than a craving for a good story.

There's something comforting about bedtime reading and the experience of telling and re-telling stories. When asked about their memories of being read to at bedtime 2 in 5 parents said they felt comforted and more than a third remembered being transported to a magical world when they were read to as a child. Almost a third remember being able to sleep more easily as a result of their parents telling a story before bedtime suggesting the benefits are more far reaching than they first seem.