Parents spend £1.8 billion on children's rooms
(13 July 2007)

Parents spend £1.8 billion on their children's nurseries, with some splashing out on plasma TVs, Balzac chairs, hand carved antique furniture and original works of art to adorn their offspring's bedroom.

New research by Halifax Home Insurance has revealed that parents spend an average of £2,628 on their child's nursery.

Parents in Wales spend the most at an average of £4,927, while Scottish parents seem to be thriftier, spending an average of £574.

The research also showed that parents tend to impose their own hobbies and interests in the decoration of children's nurseries, with one parent hanging a collection of original Star Wars film cells on their child's wall.

Many fathers put up complete signed football strips to inspire their offspring to grow up to be footballers.

One in five children under the age of three has a television in their nursery and one in 20 parents indicated that they were considering installing CCTV to keep an eye on their children.

Vicky Emmott, senior manager of underwriting at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "The new baby boom is all about the amount parents are spending to ensure their children start life in a luxury home nursery. Parents are spending almost half the price of a new car on their children's home nurseries."