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About A Boy

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Written by Tim Barnes-Clay

Boys spend more time reading than playing football new research reveals.

New research by Cartoon Network has lifted the lid on what modern boys really get up to – and the results are quite surprising.

Bookworms

Instead of kicking a ball about on the pitch the average lad prefers a good book, spending 20 days and 20 hours a year reading compared to just five hours 16 days playing football and other sports.

The research, commissioned by Cartoon Network to mark the launch of the new series of its animated adventure series Ben 10, looked at the habits of 1,200 boys aged six to 12 over the course of a year.

The research also found:

1. Boys spend 29 days nine hours playing video games
2. They wear holes into a least two pieces of clothing every term
3. Get told off by their parents 161 times – that’s almost three times a week
4. Spend 103 hours on their bike
5. Their favourite colour is blue

“This insight into how boys spend their time is a real eye opener,” says Sean Gorman, programming director at Kids Channels UK and Ireland. “Like Ben Tennyson, the superhero in Ben 10, British boys have active lives, going to parties, spending time with their friends and riding their bikes outside.”

The new series of Ben 10 airs weekends at 10am on Cartoon Network.