Junk food, entertainment gobble up pocket money

LONDON - If parents have ever wondered what happens to the pocket money they give their little lovelies, the British Government has come up with the brutal truth - sweets, burgers, games and videos.

Britain's children spend more than half their spare cash on snacks, junk food and entertainment, according to the first detailed look at children's spending.

A typical child spends almost a fifth of his or her cash on confectionery, snacks and drinks and about the same again on other food purchases.

The facts come from an Office for National Research look at children's money as part of its annual survey of family spending that is used to calculate the country's economic growth.

The office says children aged between 7 and 15 typically spend about 13 ($33.27) a week, based on diaries kept by more than 4100 children over two years.

They spend more than a third of their own cash - 36 per cent - on sweets and food, with average spending on the two categories ranging from 2.50 ($6.40) a week for 7 to 9-year-olds to 6.80 ($17.40) a week for 13 to 15s.

Thirteen to 15-year-olds spend an average 20.40 ($52.19) a week, compared with 10 to 12-year-olds at 11.30 ($28.91) a week and 7 to 9-year-olds at 7 ($17.91) a week.

Girls' buying power outstripped boys' in each of the three age categories, while girls spent six times as much on "personal care" as boys.

Mobile phones are used by both sexes equally, with children allocating 4 per cent of their budget, or 50p ($1.28), a week to phones and charges - a category that is bound to spiral over coming years.

- INDEPENDENT