Teenage Children, an Expensive Proposition for Parents

Parents in U.K. spend as much as £6,261 every year on their teenage children, a new survey reveals.

Around 1000 parents were surveyed. The results showed that on average parents spend nearly £61 ($95) a week to keep the house full of food items for their teenagers. Over two-thirds of parents said their growing teenager ate more than anyone else in the house.

Also paying teenagers' phone bills is not an easy task. Six in 10 parents said they end up arguing with their teenagers over the expensive phone bills. Also four in 10 parents tell their children to get a job so that they can help pay the bills as early as they can.

Children between 13 and 19 cost their parents a whooping £43,828 ($67,267)in total and almost half is spent on food and drink. Apart from this, parents also have to bear their travel costs and pocket money. On average, teenagers get £21.70 ($34) a month and also £20.82 ($32) of "loans," the Daily Express reported.

"Children are expensive whatever their age but it seems once they hit teenage years they have bigger appetites and spend much of their time eating into the electricity bill with TVs, computer games and, in many cases, leaving lights and gadgets on when they aren't using them," said Andy Oldham, managing director of cashback site Quidco.com, who conducted the survey.

"If it was just to cover food and the things they are actually using, it might not be too bad. But spending extra to cover lights and TVs left on is nothing but frustrating," he concluded.