One child in ten asks Saint Nicholas for a mobile phone

Brussels – For Saint Nicholas Day, Mobistar questioned more than 1,000 parents about the presents that the Saint will give their children and about what gifts their children ask Saint Nicholas for. The figures are remarkable. The study shows that close to one child in 10 between 7 and 12 ask for a mobile phone from the Saint. Nearly 1 in 3 primary school children already have a mobile phone. A third of the children between 11 and 13 years of age pay the costs in whole or in part with their own pocket money.

What do children ask for from the Saint?
In the 7-12 age category, nine percent ask the Saint for a mobile phone.
Youngsters between 12 and 18 are somewhat less likely to ask for a mobile phone on Saint Nicholas Day: only seven percent. They prefer to receive money so they can pay part of their mobile expenses, on top of the amount paid by their parents.
The study also shows that children younger than 7 mostly ask for toys (93 percent).

What do children receive from the Saint?
Mobistar’s study shows that around 10 percent of the children between 7 and 12 receive a mobile phone, an iPad, iPod, or mobile phone accessories from the Saint. One in three children of that age group already have a mobile phone. Among the 7-10 age group, 17 percent of the children have a mobile.
Children mostly receive a traditional handset (i.e. not a smartphone). Half of the children between 7 and 12 choose their handset themselves. In the 7-10 age group, it’s only one child out of three.
Remarkably, 2 percent of the children younger than 7 receive an iPad from Saint Nicholas.
People with children spend an average of 80 euros per child for Saint Nicholas gifts. When you look at people without children, but who give presents to their nephews or to children of friends, they spend an average of 50 euros per child.

Who pays the mobile phone expenses?
Mobile phone bills are mostly paid by the parents, with an average of 15 euros per month. But the kids also contribute quite significantly: one third of children between 11 and 13 years pay all or part of the costs of their mobile phone. Half of the 12-18 year olds pay all or part of their mobile costs.

What are the children using their mobile phone for?
Children use their mobile phones primarily to send text messages (75 percent), to call (25 percent), to download music (25 percent), to play games (20 percent) and to visit social networks (16 percent).