Top 10 ways children damage their parents’ homes

The Independent reports that the average child in the UK will cause £5,000 damage in their parents’ homes by the time they reach 18.

Apparently 3 year olds are the most destructive, according to the ‘True Cost of a Child’ report.

It lists the most common damage caused at home as:

1.  Spilling food and drink on the carpets (63%)
2. Smashing plates and crockery (35%)
3. Drawing and painting on the walls (33%)
4. Breaking vases, pictures and photo frames (24%)
5. Tearing wallpaper from the walls (22%)
6.  Jumping on beds until they break (15%)
7. Breaking windows playing sports in the garden (10%)
8. Damaging the TV playing computer games (9%)
9. Putting food and drink in electrical objects (7%)
10. Hiding valuables in the washing machine (6.6%)

The report shows that after the age of 10, levels of household destruction gradually fall until children reach 16 at which point the damage levels start to rise once again.