A study has revealed that about 88 percent of China's parents surveyed spend time with their children reading books.

The survey carried out by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication (CAPP), was released on Thursday.

It covers 51 cities in China's 29 provincial regions and more than 19,000 people, and shows that parents spend an average of 23 minutes each day with their kids reading books.

It shows that in 2010, nearly 77 percent of the children surveyed under eight years old can read, 5 percentage points higher than in 2009.

The survey also shows that 25.7 percent of children start reading before their first birthday. "The more time parents share with their child in reading, the more the child likes reading," it says.

Xu Shengguo, director of the CAPP's national reading research and development center, said international experience shows that "the earlier a child starts to read, the easier it is for the child to form reading habits."