Nevermind food and nappies if you're planning to have a child it's gadgets that may leave your pockets bare. Once they learn to press buttons, it's all over from there as far as your poor wallet’s concerned. A survey by price comparison site Kelkoo found that parents spend an average of £500 a year on technology for their children with seven-year-olds averaging at an even higher £760 per year.
The survey also shows that 91% of kids in the UK between the ages of five and 16 own gadgets including the main culprits: games consoles, mobiles phones and laptops.
More than one in 10 children has an even flashier smartphone and 7% have a netbook. 3% even own a tablet PC.
Worryingly though, one in five parents say they never monitor their children’s activity while they are on the web and nine out of ten parents accept that technology 'now forms a vital part of a child’s development.'
Kelkoo suggest that the reason why seven-year-olds foot the highest bill is because 'this is the age when most children take the step up from infant to junior school, becoming increasingly self-aware and able to articulate exactly what they want' I.e. the age where they wine and moan until their parents crack and buy them the gadgets that 'all the friends have.'
What do you think of these findings?
I was happy with an Etch A Sketch when I was seven.
Are you a parent and if so what role do you think technology plays in your child's development?
Source: Skynews