CHRISTMAS is traditionally a time of giving, especially when it comes to children.

But, according to a new survey, 47 per cent of children worry that their parents go over the top when it comes to buying gifts.

Instead, they would prefer to have some of that money put aside for their future.

The research found that almost half of parents plan to spend £100 to £200 per child on gifts this Christmas, with almost a quarter spending £200-£500 per child, and four per cent spending more than £500.

A third of parents even admit they spend too much on Christmas presents, with 40 per cent preferring to put some of the money towards saving for their children's future.

But John Ferris, director of Toymaster, Toy City, on Worcester's Shrub Hill Industrial Estate, said he had not seen signs of parents spending less on their children, this year.

"But people are leaving their buying to a later and later date to catch as many bargains as they can," he said.

"The downside of that is, in our industry, people end up running around trying to find stuff."

Sue Leicester, manager of the independent Toyworld, in High Street, Droitwich, said: "Most of the toy industry has suffered this year.

"I don't know whether that is down to people cutting back to save for their children's future."

She added that the most popular toy has been the Robosapien, a robot designed by a former NASA robotics physicist.

"We have completely sold out. We can't get any more and we have tried," said Mrs Leicester.

Relationship psychologist Corinne Sweet said parents splashed out because they often felt peer pressure from other parents.

"There is lots of competition to keep up with the latest toys, such as PlayStations or Bratz, this year," she said.

"The second aspect is that parents often feel guilty about how much they work and about how little time they actually spend with their kids - they overcompensate with expensive gifts but more often than not, the kids just want some quality time with them."

She also believes that children today have come to expect to be entertained and since parents do not like to see their children bored, they try to counterbalance this with costly gifts because they feel it is somehow their fault.

"There is a definite feeling of 'it'll all be fine if we spend a lot at Christmas' but, of course, most children are quite happy with a full stocking and I've actually come to see that you don't have to spend that much as a parent to make them smile," she said.

"The problem is that parents often feel that gifts are a way to express their love but the children don't really notice - they'd rather just see their mum or dad more the rest of the year."

Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director for the Association of Investment Trust Companies, which carried out the study on children aged from eight to 15, said they were surprised with the results.

She said the majority of children questioned said that once they reached 18, the most popular way of spending any money that had been put aside was on a car.

"Maybe they are hoping for some short term pain for long term gain," she said.

She added that it was all too easy to sometimes spend more than intended. "The message from our research is clear - even from a tender age, children are becoming increasingly aware of the need to save for their future," she said.

"If you had invested £25 per month over 18 years in the average investment trust - a total investment of £5,400 - your investment would have increased to £10,634. A great financial start to adult life."

About 30 per cent of parents say they do not currently save for their children's future. But some children should be able to start adult life in a good financial position since more than a quarter (27 per cent) of parents said they save more than £400 a year for each of their children.

Investing some money - either a one-off lump sum, or on a regular basis is one way to give any child a positive headstart in life.

Since 2001, it has been possible to start a pension for a child and, in most cases, contributions of up to £3,600 gross can be made to a child's pension each year, according to the AITC.