It found that 98% of British parents worry their children may never be able to save up for a house deposit, so they start to save for them before they become teenagers.

The research, carried out by money saving site VoucherCodesPro, polled a total of 2,300 parents of at least one child aged between four and 17 years old.

It asked parents how much thought they had given to when their child will move out and the majority of parents (79%) said they had begun to plan for their child’s next steps.

The parents were also asked if they had started saving money for their child to have when they move out of the family home and 67% said they had.

When asked to reveal how old their child had been when they began saving, the average answer was 12.

In terms of how much parents are saving, a quarter said they’ve put away between £1,000 and £2,000, 22% saved less than £1,000, 11% saved between £3,000 and £4,000 and 15% said they saved £5,000 or more.

Some parents (32%) also said they had begun collecting furniture for their child, 27% had started researching nice areas for them to live, and 21% told researchers they had begun educating them on necessities such as bills and tax.

George Charles of  VoucherCodesPro, said: “Preparing your child so they are ready to move out into the big wide world is incredibly important, although some may say 12 is too young to start preparing for their independence, it’s surely better for them to understand the importance of saving and financially budgeting from a young age. I would say when it comes to money, saving for your child as early as possible is a great idea and a brilliant present for your offspring.”