Children's expenditure: by sex and type of purchase, 2002/03 and 2003/04, UK
Children aged 7 to 15 in the United Kingdom spent an average of £13.00 a week in 2002-2003 to 2003-04. Girls spent more than boys, at £13.60 a week compared with £12.40 spent by boys.
Young teenagers (aged 13 to 15) spent the most at £21.50 a week for girls and £20.40 by boys. Ten to twelve year olds spent £11.00 a week – girls spent £11.70 and boys spent £10.80. Children aged 7 to 9 spent an average of £7.00 a week, with girls spending £7.20 and boys spending £6.80.
Children spent 18 per cent of their total spending on ‘confectionery, snacks and drinks’, and a similar amount on ‘other food purchases’. Average spending on these top two categories combined ranged from £2.50 for 7 to 9 year olds to £6.80 for 13 to 15 year olds.
Boys spend more than girls on ‘games, toys, hobbies and pets’. At ages 7 to 9, boys spent £2.40 a week (35 per cent of their total spend). This was twice as much as the £1.20 a week spent by girls (17 per cent of their spending). By the ages 13 to 15 boys were spending £2.60 a week (14 per cent) and girls just 50p (2 per cent) on this category.
Girls spend more than boys on clothing and footwear. At ages 7 to 9, girls and boys spent a similar amount. By ages 13 to 15, the average weekly spending by girls was £5.30. This was a quarter of their weekly spend and double the £2.50 spent by boys. Young teenage girls of this age spent twice as much as young teenage boys on their mobile phones, at £1.50 compared with 90p a week.
Source: Expenditure and Food Survey, Office for National Statistics
Notes: Expenditure has been rounded to the nearest 10p. Analysis is based on two years of children’s data (2002-03 and 2003-04).
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Data: Family Spending