Bored and bickering

Good Friday (6th April) at 1.08pm, just five days into the Easter holidays, is the point at which boredom is most likely to set in for kids during the coming Easter break according to a survey by esure home insurance?.

Worryingly for homeowners given that holidays and boredom can contribute to 'cabin fever' and breakages in the home, the "Mum, I'm bored" survey reveals that during the Easter holiday the nation's children will say "I'm bored" 193 million times in two weeks - at least once a day per child?. Parents will try to prevent the onset of boredom at all costs with over a third (37%) planning an Easter schedule of 'fun' to keep their children entertained.

Lucky British children are spoilt with Easter 'treats' worth a whopping £1.8 billion to keep them entertained throughout the break. The average child gets £152 spent on them, with day trips - to the zoo, theme park or museum inflicting the most damage on the parental purse?. Parents lavish their time as well as money on their children, with just under half of parents (48%) taking time off work for some quality 'family time'. However, a quarter of parents (25%) admit they dread the Easter holiday and one in five (22%) would prefer to go into the office rather than stay at home with the kids.

Family time together can prove to be testing with 12.8 million families likely to end up fighting and bickering more over the break4. The top prompts for Easter upsets between parents and their sons and daughter includes not tidying bedrooms, closely followed by bedtime disputes and the choice of television channel. Visiting relatives cause conflict in one in twenty (5%) families.

Top sources of Easter bickering
Making the children tidy their bedrooms 14%
Bedtimes/staying up too late 13%
Choice of television channel 12%
Amount of time children are allowed to play computer games 10%
Children helping with household tasks 9%
Homework 7%
Pocket money 5%
Children getting out of bed in the morning 5%
Visiting relatives 5%
The amount of time children can spend with their friends 4%
Don't argue 16%

Dr Richard Ralley, a senior psychology lecturer at Edge Hill University in Lancashire, who is conducting research into boredom said: "Boredom isn't fun, but it is there for a good reason. Boredom is a useful response that helps kids get genuine downtime, restore the body, and then rechannel their energy. Parents shouldn't underestimate the pressure and demands of schooling on kids. Therefore bored kids at Easter is not a disaster, it can actually be natural.

"Expensive overstimulation is counterproductive. It may be borne out of parental guilt in a society where careers and family are juggled, making family time together a rare and precious thing."

Nikki Sellers, Head of Home Insurance for esure said: "The Easter break means more family time together in the home, with the kids' friends round and visits from friends and relatives, families need to take extra care as the likelihood of accidents will soar.

"It's crucial to have the right accidental damage cover as high spirited children desperately searching for ways to amuse themselves can rack up hefty and unexpected breakages, spillages and damage."