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It seems the age-old tradition [for / of] children getting a bedtime story before sleeping is on the [wane / wand] in Britain. A new study [revels / reveals] that around a third of parents do not read bedtime stories to their children. The study, from British online [trailer / retailer] Littlewoods.com, also found that up to 50 per cent of children would prefer to watch TV or play computer games than [be / are] read a story. Researchers further discovered that a [paltry / sultry] five per cent of British under-sevens do not even own a book. Parents came up with a [pyramid / myriad] of reasons why they did not read to their little ones. Thirteen per cent of parents [blaming / blamed] a lack of time, nine per cent said they are [justify / just] “too stressed”, while others said their children were simply not [interested / interesting] .

Littlewoods has [streamed / teamed] up with British pop star Natasha Hamilton to try and [verse / reverse] this trend. They have [lunched / launched] a bedtime story writing competition for children under seven. Ms Hamilton, 31, told reporters: "I'm really [excitedly / excited] to see all the different story ideas and can't wait to see what the kids come [down / up] with. Choosing a winner's not going to be easy." She spoke about her own [joyous / joy] as a mother [in / on] reading bedtime stories, saying: "As a mum of three, I know just how enjoyable reading bedtime stories to my kids [are / is] ." A spokesman from Littlewoods.com said: "We appreciate [how / why] important it is for parents and kids to spend quality time together, and bedtime stories are a great way to do [justice / just] this."