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As many as one in four Australian children are missing out on bedtime stories because of their time-poor parents, research has found.
While nearly three in four parents believe the night time ritual offers an important bonding experience and helps them connect, a quarter of Aussie kids are only read to once a week - or not at all, according to the Oxford Children's Language Australia study.
Three out of four parents in the 1000-strong survey said they struggled to find time to read with their primary school-aged kids.
More than half also said they were nervous about reading to their child because of their own reading abilities.
But as a result, children are missing out on vital skills that could disadvantage them later in life, says a concerned Lee Walker, director of publishing at Oxford University Press.
"It's not just the advancement of literacy and communication skills bedtime reading provides to children, it also provides a special moment at the end of each day where parents and children can bond," she said.
"It's worrying that these moments are currently being lost across Australia because parents are struggling to find the time in their everyday routine."
Expert literacy educator, Annie Facchinette, says reading with a child doesn't have to be an arduous task - it could be as simple as reading the shopping list, road signs or posters on a walk.
Siblings can also help read to each other, if there is insufficient time for parents to, and nervous mums and dads might benefit from doing a practise run to familiarise themselves with trickier words and expressions, she says.
But the benefits of daily story times are innumerable.
"It shows your child you value reading and helps them become better and more confident readers," Ms Facchinette says.
"It also increases their vocabulary, opens them up to new ideas and is great bonding time for parents and their children.
"Make it a habit you both look forward to."
© AAP 2022
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As Russian troops regrouped for battles in east Ukraine, towns surrounding Kyiv bore scars of five weeks of fighting. Dead civilians laid scattered over streets near mangled wrecks of burned-out Russian tanks and unexploded rockets.
Ukraine's troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv since Russia pulled back from the area this week, Ukrainian presidential adviser Okeksiy Arestovych said.
At one recaptured town reached by Reuters, residents tearfully recalled brushes with death.
"The first time, I went out of the room and a bullet broke the glass, the window, and got stuck in the dresser," said Mariya Zhelezova, 74, in the country town of Bucha. "The second time, shattered glass almost got into my leg."
Bucha's mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said more than 300 residents had been killed.
"We don't want them to come back," Zhelezova said. "I had a dream today - that they left, and didn't come back."
Russia has depicted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in peace talks, which last convened on Friday. Ukraine and its allies say Russia was forced to shift its focus to east Ukraine after suffering heavy losses near Kyiv.
Since sending troops on February 24 in what it calls a "special operation" to demilitarise its neighbour, Russia has failed to capture a single major city and has instead laid siege to urban areas, uprooting one-quarter of Ukraine's population.
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Facebook that the "whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader". There was no Russian comment on the claim, which Reuters could not immediately verify.
Both sides described talks held this week in Istanbul and by video link as "difficult". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday the "main thing is that the talks continue, either in Istanbul or somewhere else".
A new round of talks has not yet been announced. But Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said on Saturday that enough progress had been made to allow direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"The Russian side confirmed our thesis that the draft documents have been sufficiently developed to allow direct consultations between the two countries' leaders," Arakhamia said. Russia has not commented on the possibility.
Among those killed near Kyiv was Maksim Levin, a Ukrainian photographer and videographer who was working for a local news website and was a long-time contributor to Reuters.
His body was found in a village north of Kyiv on April 1, the news website LB.ua where he worked said on Saturday.
In the east, a Red Cross convoy was again seeking to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol after abandoning an attempt on Friday over security concerns. It was not expected to reach the port until at least Sunday.
Tens of thousands of civilians remained trapped with scant access to food and water in Mariupol, Russia's main target in Ukraine's southeastern region of Donbas.
Some civilians who have escaped Mariupol and reached Zaporizhzhia said Russian soldiers seeking Ukrainian fighters repeatedly stopped them as they fled.
"They stripped the men naked, looked for tattoos," said Dmytro Kartavov, a 32-year-old builder, adding that the troops paid particular attention to the men's knees.
"I work, I do repairs, naturally my knees - these are working knees. They say - (you) climbed trenches, dug, and the like."
International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson Ewan Watson said its convoy had departed the city of Zaporizhzhia, some 200 kilometres from Mariupol, and would spend the night en route. Russia blamed the ICRC for the delays.
© DPA 2022
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NSW Health is today reporting the deaths of 13 people with COVID-1, seven women and six men.
Seven people were aged in their 70s, five people were aged in their 80s, and one person was aged in their 90s.
Three people had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, six people had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and four people were not vaccinated.
Four people were from south western Sydney, two people were from Sydney’s Inner West and one person was from western Sydney.
One person was from northern Sydney, one person was from Sydney’s south, one person was from the Central Coast and one person was from the Shoalhaven region.
One person was from Coffs Harbour and another person was from western NSW.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,446.
There were 20,389 positive test results notified in the 24 hours to 4pm yesterday.
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Consumers should expect to pay near record prices in Australia for seafood this Easter.
Floods, labour shortages, rising petrol prices and an increased overseas appetite have all led to less seafood in the market.
Wild weather has meant many boats have simply been unable to go out, limiting catches.
A Covid wave is reportedly sweeping through the fishing community, with crews stuck in isolation and much of the fishing fleet moored.
It has resulted in a massive undersupply of seafood.
Experts expect price increases of up to 40 percent this year, as demand increases in the lead-up to Easter..
The prices of Good Friday favourites such as prawns, oysters and Tasmanian salmon, will be affected.
Salmon prices are particularly high at the moment, up around 25 per cent.
Experts advise the best buys should be Australian snapper and blue eye trevalla, with their prices due to remain stable.
Consumers are being told to get orders in early to avoid missing out.
Images: Pixabay Free Download & Peter Andrea
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