Last week Marketing learned kids between four and 14 have seen an increase in their income, a nation-wide an average of $12.38 per week. Cartoon Network’s ‘New Generations’ Study has been launched in full, elucidating some of that research.

Interestingly, the majority of Australian children’s money is not spent on toys or games, but instead on food and drinks, clothing and going out with friends and family. Online shopping also seems to be lacking in appeal or access to kids, with less than one in three claiming to have made an online purchase over the past year.

The everyday life of Australian children is changing, with time spent doing sporting and outdoor activities declining by 15% while playing with toys, reading and doing homework are on the rise.

With 68% of them using the internet every two to three days, and the interest in apps and tablets growing, screen time for children has never been higher. Demonstrating how quickly trends with children evolve, social media, while still the number three reason why children log on (behind online gaming and school work, include which is number one and number 2), is no longer used to stay updated on friends’ activities or to play games. Instead, sites like Facebook are being used to send messages, engage in instant messaging, post videos and to organise events.

While Australian parents are still holding off purchasing mobile phones for their younger ones, the habit of borrowing parents’ phones is up by 77%, with the main intention being using apps. (And it’s no surprise that Angry Birds is the hot favourite.)

And while we already know parents are 1.5 times more likely to purchase a product requested by a child, the skin and hair care categories benefit particularly from children’s persuasiveness, seeing a parents 2.3 times more likely to purchase these products if requested by their kids.

In terms of advertising, humour and existing love for a brand continues to draw children in. Brands like Lego, Milo and Vegemite have been found to have the highest recall among kids.

Finally, when asked about the future, the surveyed children reflected an attitude for personal indulgence: travel, owning a fast car and having a university degree are all growing in importance, while marriage, having kids and having a high-paying job are all falling priorities.