The school holidays can be a joyful round of picnics, bike rides and trips to the seaside with your little ones.
But that joy turns quickly to despair at home when their need to let off steam leads to graffiti on the walls, food blocking the washing machine and toys stuck in the U-bend.
In fact, the havoc they wreak costs all parents millions a year in home repairs, a survey has found.
The school break is the peak period for such mishaps, with 57 per cent of parents saying they faced substantial bills.
Almost seven in ten – 67 per cent – said their children had drawn pictures on walls and furniture, and 43 per cent had to call in a plumber after toys got stuck in the loo.
