Facebook more influential to children than family

Parents are hugely overestimating the importance of family life in the lives of their children according to new research from National Family Week.

A massive 66 per cent of mums and dads believed they were the main influence in their child’s life, but according to the kids, just 49 per cent said that their parents played any kind of influential role in their life.

Facebook is the saviour to 28 per cent of school children who say it is more important to them than money, health, sport, pets and even school.

The social networking site was most popular with children in single parent families who lived with their mum rather than dad.

Technology was found to be hugely important in the lives of children, with 32 per cent of children stating that it was bigger influence in their lives than anything else.

Despite this, parents mistakenly thought that the media, celebrities and school was more important to their children.