Children are using pester power to win treats and more pocket money from their guilt-ridden working parents, a new report claims.

As families wait until later in life before having children, it means that they are also further along their career path and have more disposable income.

This is combined with an increase in duel-income families as more mothers return to work after having children.

However, according to consumer analysts Datamonitor - and in direct contradiction to an NOP survey earlier this week - as a result of their work commitments, parents are spending less time with their children.

Its report, Targeting the Youth Market, says increased work commitments leave parents feeling guilty about the time spent away from their children, which they relieve by spending money on them.

And today's youngsters have refined their negotiating skills to the point where they can exchange a task or household chore for a parental promise as well as taking advantage of divorced parents by playing one off against the other to get what they want.

Piers Berezai, Datamonitor analyst, said: "Children have become pester-savvy, with many able to negotiate with their parents for things they want.

"With divorce increasing and more women working, parental guilt is playing an increasingly important role with, in many cases, money replacing time spent together.

"At the same time, manufacturers are becoming more blatant in their efforts to target children, as traditional taboos on advertising directly to the child are being eroded."