Children of mass destruction

With the school summer holidays fast approaching, many UK homes will suffer from the destructive force of the nation's under 16s and high-value gadgets will bear the brunt of the bedlam.

Research by 'Sheilas Wheels home insurance shows that a quarter (25 per cent) of children have broken or damaged a piece of electronic equipment in the home, leaving parents to fork out over an estimated £553 million pounds a year to repair or replace them. The average child causes around £183 worth of damage to equipment such as home cinema systems, Wii consoles and laptops every year.

The top five most common household gadgets to be broken or damaged in British homes are:

DVD player (43 per cent)
Games console (39 per cent) - such as the PS3 and XBOX 360
Television (34 per cent)
Stereo system (33 per cent)
Laptop (31 per cent)

Unsurprisingly, one in five parents surveyed (20 per cent) have claimed on their home insurance for the damage caused by their kids, emphasising the importance of having ample insurance cover to avoid facing a hefty bill. Nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of parents polled actually admitted that they would make their kids pay for the damage as part of their punishment rather than fork out the money themselves.

Alarmingly, almost a fifth (17 per cent) of parents polled don't have any home contents insurance at all.

Jacky Brown, spokesperson for Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, said: "School holidays are a prime time for breakages as bored kids can wreak havoc at home - potentially causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage. That is why accidental damage is so important for families. If the Wii controller slips out of your hand or juice gets spilt down the TV there won't be a hefty bill to repair the damage or buy a replacement."

Regional breakdown

Scots have the most reckless kids in the country generating a whopping estimated £243 worth of damage each year to electricals in the home. Almost two thirds of parents have had their DVD player (67 per cent) or games console (66 per cent) damaged by a son or daughter and over a quarter (26 per cent) have needed to make a claim on their home insurance policy.

Parents in the Midlands can breathe a sigh of relief as their sons and daughters are the least likely to cause damage in the home (£105 worth of damage per year).

Sheilas' Wheels has compiled some tips for parents to protect their hi-tech valuables from damage this summer:

Store DVD players in a lockable unit under the television
Keep stereo systems out of reach of small children
Safeguard your television with a screen protector
Secure trailing cables and wires using cable ties
Clear a space in the living room before allowing children to play with games consoles such as the Nintendo Wii
Keep laptops in a protective case when not in use