NEW research has found one in three youngsters in Bolton own more than FIVE gadgets. Saiqa Chaudhari meets one family whose children can’t live without them.

MEET siblings Jacob and Nevaeh Stanley-Carter, who are part of today’s gadget generation.

Between them they own eight gadgets, everything from a Playstation to an e-reader, and Jacob has been using them for as long as he can remember.

And the two love trying to outwit each other on Playstation games.

These two Highfield School pupils are typical of today’s generation with research showing more than a third of Bolton’s children, 38 per cent, own more than five gadgets.

Mum Charlotte Stanley, who lives in Highfield, said: “Today you can’t live without technology, you need it to do so much. I used it to fill out Nevaeh’s school application form for example.

“These two are really comfortable with technology, they do argue, especially over the laptop, but they do play the games together.

“Some of the games they play are really complicated and really test them, and I make sure all the games are age appropriate.

“The last generation used to watch Disney cartoons, this generation become the characters on screen.”

The research by E.ON showed that parents spend £326 a year per household and over a third of Bolton parents admitted they were not as tech-savvy as their children.

Jacob, eight, was only a toddler when he was introduced to the digital world.

He said: “I do have to show my mum how to use the gadgets sometimes, but she’s not bad. But I like playing out with my friends too.

Nevaeh added: “I use the laptop to look up information for homework. I enjoy playing games with my friends, and we text each other more than speaking to each other on the phone.”

Miss Stanley said most of her children’s gadgets were bought as presents, with her buying them games, sometimes a reward.

She said: “Sometimes I have to tell them to put the gadgets down. But we play boardgames like Monopoly together too, and enjoy going to the cinema, and we also enjoy playing Playstation together.”

Bolton’s Sara Cox agrees with Miss Stanley that technology is an important part of life.

The broadcaster and mum-of-three said: “Of course you don’t want your children to be addicted to their gadgets.

"But with today's busy lifestyles there can be real benefits for people of all ages when it comes to using technology.

“Technology definitely plays a role in my family life, from helping the kids with their homework to listening to the latest music, there’s always a gadget on the go.”

E.ON has an online “saving energy toolkit” allowing customers to monitor how much energy they are using and keep track of how their use stacks up similar homes in their local area.

Plugged into technology

  • More than a third of Bolton children (38 per cent) own more than five gadgets 
  • In Bolton, parents estimate they typically spend £326 a year per household;UK parents with children aged under-five are spending even more, splashing out almost £400 a year on gadgets for their techie tots
  • Teenagers, aged 15 to 17, across the UK are the most “plugged-in” typically owning seven devices each;  
  • Parents of males aged 18-plus are spending more than £717 a year on gadgets for their sons 
  • Daughters in the same age group have just under £1,000 worth of gadgets bought for them by their parents every year