The 2018 Childwise report finds that the average monthly spend on pre-schoolers’ toys has increased this year.

Parents of under-fives are spending a pound more on average on toys this year – up to £18 compared with £17 last year – according to Childwise, an independent research group specialising in children and young people.

Latest figures from the independent Childwise Monitor Pre-School Report 2018 also show spending on toys is more likely to be higher for boys than girls, with an average spend of £19 on boys and £17 on girls.

Jenny Ehren, Childwise research manager, commented: “The pre-school market is unique, with spending mainly in the hands of parents, but with a growing sense of children’s own preferences and interests. The majority of parents spend money on toys for their pre-schooler each month, largely unchanged since last year. But among those spending, amounts have increased for the third consecutive year.”

Parents were asked how much they spend on their pre-schoolers across nine different categories per month: clothes; days out; organised activities; toys; footwear; books; magazines; DVDs/Blu-Rays and apps & games.

As last year, the highest spend is on clothes, and on average parents spend more than £100 a month across the nine categories. Toys were the category with the third highest average spend.

There is no difference in average spend between boys and girls aged under two, but a gender gap forms by the age of three to four.

“There is also a higher average monthly spend of £18 on toys for the under-twos, decreasing to £17 a month for older preschoolers,” says Jenny.

More than one in 10 parents spend in excess of £40 in a one-month period, while one in five continue to spend less than £10.

“In contrast to last year, the amount spent on toys per month is the same regardless of socio-economic group. Parents in lower groups are spending more on toys than they were a year ago, whereas spending in higher socio-economic groups remains unchanged,” says Jenny.

Research from the 2015 edition of the Pre-School Report revealed that children under five are more likely to influence the purchase of toys than anything else. Over half of all three to four year olds choose the toys that are bought for them.