The bedtime story is alive and well, with parents reading to their children four times a week – often picking up the same book so frequently they can recite every word.
A study of 1,000 parents, with children aged 0 to 10, found 82% read to their little ones on a regular basis, with 20% of these doing so at least once a day.
And many employ a host of storytelling techniques to capture the imagination of their young offspring.
These include using sound effects (26%), dimming the lights (28%), and even embellishing or tweaking the story (26%).
The research was commissioned by McDonald's to highlight its free book tokens giveaway with Happy Meals for World Book Day – a campaign backed by Joe Swash.
The study found over half (57%) know every last word of some stories.
Chloe Bissell, head of marketing for family, brand & affinity at the restaurant chain, said: "Story time is such a familiar and integral part of growing up.
"For many of us, our memories of being read to by loved ones are likely to be among our most treasured.
"It’s a wonderful way to introduce children to the magical world of literature and create new memories which will live with them forever.
"We are so proud to partner with the National Literacy Trust and World Book Day to ensure more families than ever before can share a story together."
To really amp up story time, one in four parents (26%) who read to their kids will use sound effects, while 16% will play suitable background music to create the right mood.
And 16% will go to town by dressing up in costumes, with the same percentage using puppets to bring the tale to life.
Six in ten revealed techniques such as these help them feel more confident when reading to their children.
On average, those polled said the most popular story they’ve told their kids has been read a total of 40 times.
Having read specific tales so many times, 33% admitted they have attempted to skip over bits of the book.
But this strategy is rarely successful, as 90% of those who have tried this revealed their children tend to notice and call them out for it.
The study, carried out via OnePoll, found 61% of those who do voices when reading to their kids believe this aspect of storytelling to be what their children like most about story time.
But opinion is split over who their kids think does the best voices – with 42% believing they’d say dad is, while 40% think they’d vote for mum.
