Parents are creating an 'I want it now' generation by indulging children's every demand at Christmas, say experts.

In contrast to the generous boy in this year's popular John Lewis advert, youngsters in Britain are becoming increasingly selfish, claim the education analysts.

Consumer-savvy children are forcing their families into racking up huge debts and risk becoming spoilt and dissatisfied in the future.

Behavioural consultant Chris Calland said: 'Parents are desperate to make Christmas into magical fairytale for their kids.

'There’s nothing wrong with that as such. The problem arises when it means always giving into all our children’s demands - even if they are beyond our price range or not age-appropriate.'

Ms Calland, who runs ‘Santa Says No’ style sessions with colleague Nicky Hutchinson, added: 'Many of us go into so much debt providing the gifts our children want that we spend the rest of the year paying off the bills.

'Yet so often the parcels we’ve carefully wrapped, once opened, are just pushed away because the very thing our little boy or girl was once so desperate for, they have now lost interest in.'

Ms Calland and Ms Hutchinson have drawn up a list of guidelines to help parents manage their offspring's Christmas lists this year.

They say that adults can actually improve their relationships with their children by resisting 'pester power'.

Ms Calland said: 'All too often we say yes because we want an easier life when the fact is we’re only building up problems for the future.

'We are helping create a generation of youngsters who are blind to the needs of others and the necessity of hard work. We are giving them a sense of entitlement that won’t serve them well as adults.

'Children learn fast – if we sometimes change our mind, they quickly realise it might be worth lying on the floor and screaming for it.

'Make sure you and your partner are working together on this. Be consistent. And try not to get caught up in competition with other family or friends.'

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)