'One in four children' use touch screen to read

Just over a quarter of children (26%) use a touch screen at home to read stories, a literacy charity has found.

The National Literacy Trust (NLT) found pre-school children were more likely to read every day if they had access to smartphones and tablets, as well as physical books.

• The study also found children were still more likely to read using a physical book, with almost all (95.2%) looking at print-based stories on a typical week.
• Children were more likely to enjoy reading if they used both books and a touch screen than reading books alone (77.4% compared to 70.8%).

• Parents were keen to give their youngsters a head start in understanding modern technology. Nearly three quarters (73.7%) agreed it was important for their child to learn to use technology from an early age.

Read: Poor children 'twice as likely' to read daily with tablet