Damage at wild teenage parties ‘costs parents £162’

Parents typically spend £162 clearing up the damage to their homes caused by out-of-control teenage parties, an insurance provider claimed yesterday.

The firm warned parents to be vigilant after a survey found that 14 per cent of them said the family home had been damaged by a raucous teenage bash.

Parents said the damage cost £162 to fix on average – marking a £45 increase on a similar study carried out last year.

The biggest headache reported by parents was clearing up general rubbish and mess, while broken furniture, stains to carpets and burns to upholstery also featured on the list of woes.

Parties hosted by boys are more likely to result in broken furniture, while girls throwing a bash are twice as likely to create more general rubbish, the study found.

Andy James, of the firm Allianz Your Cover which was behind the survey, said: “Parents have good reason to worry about celebrations getting out of control. By being vigilant to their teenager’s behaviour, parents can avoid being the unlucky owner of a home ravaged by a teen party.”

The study of 2,000 UK parents with children aged between 11 and 18 also suggested that they are not monitoring whether their teenagers are organising parties online as closely as they have been previously.

The proportion of parents keeping an eye on their teenagers’ online activity has halved since last year’s survey, from 35 per cent in 2010 to 17 per cent.

Mr James added: “We would urge parents to talk to their teenage children and set boundaries for parties.”