Two thirds of Brits are already struggling to meet school costs while many are getting into debt to fork out for their children's phones. A study by MoneySuperMarket revealed, amid the cost-of-living crisis, 67% of parents are finding paying for their child starting school more difficult, rising to 87% in Scotland.
And nearly a quarter surveyed had used credit cards to pay for tech, like laptops and phones, for children heading to secondary school. On average, British children get their first mobile phone when they are 10 years and three months old, the research found.
Children are receiving their mobile phones in the final year of primary school in the run up to joining secondary school – just short of 11. Many are significantly younger, with around 215,556 children under the age of eight having a mobile phone, including about 16,000 three to four-year-olds. In the West Midlands, 13% of five to six-year-olds have a mobile phone.
