In the festive season a lot of teenagers and pre-teen kids are expecting their parents to gift them their favourite gizmo. For few of them it can be the latest gaming console but for most of them it is the latest mobile phone.

A study by Halifax, a respected UK Bank,about the spending and saving habits of children in UK has confirmed the obvious; mobiles have replaced cars, toys & dolls as the favoured toy of kids acrossall age groups.

The study states, in the age group of 7-1157% children own a mobile. As they grow their affection for this device spiralup dramatically and in the 12-16 age group mobile phone ownership goes up to 94%! I wasn't surprised at all when I also read that all this is funded by their parents whose threshold for indulging their children is increasing with each passing day.

In 2006, 40% parents took care of the mobile phone bills of their wards. This number was down by 7% last year, one more reason for kids to stay glued to their mobile phones. But the most interesting aspect of the survey was that most kids have a PrePay or pay as you go (PAYG) sim in their mobile phones.

The survey declared that 79% children hadgone for pay as you go tariff plans and very few parents allow their kids to avail a contract mobile phone. As one moves up in the age group the number of kids with a contract phone, instead of a PAYG phone, goes up, for the simple reason that kids of that age are deemed moreresponsible.

With a in their kid's pocket the parent of the child can breathe easy both ways. First they will always be connected with the child through the mobile phones and will also be able to keep the phone bill in check via the PAYG tariff. This way the kids get what they want the most, a mere mobile phone but parents get what they always desired, peace of mind!