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For many families, days out have been replaced with hours in front of a games console or phone.

And new research blames this rising trend on parents for spoiling their offspring with the latest expensive gadgets throughout the year.

A survey of 2,000 adults found parents are spending a combined £2.25 billion on gadgets every 12 monthsfor their children - with teenage girls and the under-fives being spoilt the most.

The survey polled 2,000 British adults about their tech spending habits. Parents were found to spend a combined £2.25 billion on gadgets a year for their offspring - and children under five were among the most spoilt (stock image pictured) at £394 a year each

The survey was commissioned by energy firm E.ON.

It found a typical child now owns four gadgets and parents on the whole spend £292 per child, every year.

Teenagers aged between 15 and 17 are the most tech-savvy, each owning on average seven devices, including laptops, tablets and phones.

However, parents with sons aged over 18 are spending over £717 on gadgets, while daughters get devices worth £992 a year.

Parents of children under the age of five are also spending an above average £394 a year.

In a separate study, computer memory firm Crucial.com discovered technology causes people to put things off to the last minute - and this costs more than £768 million a month.

It found people have become so reliant on technology that when it breaks at the last minute, they are left paying more for shopping, train tickets and holidays. 

The research found a typical child now owns four gadgets and parents spend, on average, £292 per child, every year. Teenagers aged between 15 and 17 are the most tech-savvy, each owning on average seven devices, including laptops, tablets and phones. Stock image pictured

More than half of the 2,000 adults surveyed said they leave activities such as finding travel directions, holiday shopping, and making payments to the last minute.

However, 59 per cent admitted that devices have frozen on them, they've not been able to get online, or the battery has died, leaving them to seek alternative methods.

Many of these alternatives are more expensive, and users end up wasting money.

The poll also revealed that although more than half (56 per cent) said they are too dependent on technology and would struggle to cope if they lost it.

While only one in six would turn to traditional methods to complete a task, such as looking at a paper map or calling a timetable hotline.

Researchers found that the top last-minute activities include looking up travel directions (33 per cent), shopping (23 per cent), making payments (18 per cent), contacting friends or relatives (10 per cent), and booking holidays (10 per cent).