Children's demands force parents to fork out

The demands of children to have better houses, cars, and the latest in electronic equipment is forcing frantic parents to fork out £3 billion a year.

A survey of 1600 parents, conducted here on Raisingkids.co.uk for Ebay Motors, found that children are nagging parents to spend more and more on so-called 'big ticket' consumer items. The resulting phenomenon has been dubbed 'power pestering' as parents give in to children's demands to bigger and more expensive purchases.

55% of the parents polled said their children influence how money is spent on electronic and AV goods. Almost one in four let their children influence the purchase of the family home and one in five are persuaded by their kids when it comes to choosing a new car.

'What happened to parents saying 'No'?' says Raisingkids founder Dr Pat Spungin. 'Parent power should be stronger than pester power.'

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