Kids prefer bedtime stories read to them by Dad

A new poll from Silentnight has found that children prefer their Father's to read to them at bedtime. 76 per cent of children surveyed said that they prefered their dad's funny interpretations of bedtime stories, as opposed to the strict rules their mothers' impose on bedtime reading.

85 per cent of mums admitted to only reading stories that they like to their children at night, tending to choose classics such as 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' over Rhold Dahl's thrillers 'The Witches' and 'Matilda'.

The survey highlighted that not all parents read to their children every night. It found that parents in Kent read to their children the most, followed by Londoners. Parents read to their children least in Northern Ireland, with only 3 per cent of parents saying they reguarly gave their kids a bedtime story.

The poll was conducted by Silentnight Beds. Amanda Jones, director, highlighted how reading to children was a fantastic way for them to learn, saying:

"A shocking amount of parents don't read to their children on a regular basis. While it's fantastic that parents are continuing to introduce their children to timeless children’s authors such as Dahl and Blyton, it is crucial that children are allowed to discover their own worlds of fiction too."

The survey also showed how children prefer different books to their parents. The top 5 bedtime stories as chosen by parents included The Famous Five Books by Enid Blyton and Alice in Wonderland, whereas children prefered newer authors such as Nadia Aguiar, Elen Caldacoff and Eoin Colfer.

Silentnight Beds have launched a Book at Bedtime competition to find the nation's favourite new young writer. The 10 finalists have been chosen and their stories are on the website silentnight.co.uk/bookatbedtime. Parents and kids can log on, listen to the stories, read by author Kaye Umansky, and vote for their favourites.