Kids can cause £15k in home damage before they turn 18, new research finds — but there are ways to prevent it

84% of the parents surveyed said that their kids had caused damage to their homes in the past year, an average of 56 times.

With the average parent having 1.8 children, Checkatrade found that parents are spending an average of £807 to repair that damage each year.

By the time those 1.8 kids are grown up, they can cause almost £15,000 worth of damage, according to Checkatrade’s calculations — whether that’s scratching floors, drawing on walls, or destroying toys or equipment.

Kids most commonly damage their own belongings — but electronics are most expensive

Some of the most commonly damaged items are kids’ own belongings (like toys), furniture and carpets, flooring, and doors/walls, Checkatrade found.

Nearly one in ten (8%) of the parents surveyed say their child has caused over £1,000 worth of damage in a single incident.

Electronics are the most expensive thing to replace after child-inflicted damage — the parents spent an average of £325 replacing electronics in the last year.

4-year-olds are the most destructive

Kids, unsurprisingly, cause the most damage when they’re young — 4-year-olds cause an average of 111 incidents a year, the research found.

Once they’re a bit older, kids cause less damage, with 13-year-olds only causing damage 19 times a year.

But this doesn't mean the damage ends when kids grow up. Teens contribute to the cost of redecorating and replacing things, too, with 17-year-olds causing damage 46 times a year.

Anger and creativity are to blame

A lot of the damage comes from everyday accidents — half of the parents say that accidental spillages contributed to repair bills.

But a lot also comes from play. 34% of parents say that their kids caused some kind of damage from creative activities with pens or crayons, while 26% and 24% attribute it to playing outdoor games insider and play fighting, respectively.

Some damage comes as a result of anger, too — around 30% of the parents of both five-year-olds and 17-year-olds say that their children caused damage from angry outbursts.

How to limit the damage your kids cause to your home

Emma Grant, Head of Trade Experience at Checkatrade, has shared five tips to minimise damage from kids in your home.

1. Use washable or darker-coloured paint — this allows you to easily clean off wall scribbles or at least hide any stains.
2. Create a ‘destruction zone’ — a dedicated area for kids to play in, can reduce damage in other areas of the house.
3. Install soft-close hinges on doors — these can prevent slamming doors from damaging door frames, as well as serve as a safety precaution to avoid trapped fingers.
4. Invest in furniture covers — it’s much easier to wash or replace covers, which saves you from re-buying or deep cleaning bulky furniture items.
5. Try shatterproof window films — these are a cost-effective way to strengthen existing glass and reduce injury risk if windows do break.

By taking a few proactive steps to child-proof your home, you can reduce the frequency and severity of damaging accidents — and potentially save thousands of pounds in the process.

Whether you’re baby-proofing a nursery or teen-proofing your doorframes, Checkatrade has more than 50,000 vetted tradespeople on hand to help, and a job estimate calculator that can give you a price estimate based on real prices from past jobs.

Read more

• Toddler-proofing your home, garden and garage
• Simple DIY job that could save your child's life - do you do it?
• Garden safety for kids