Ban Christmas lists for children urges charity The survey also revealed that parents feel pressured into buying presents which are inappropriate for the age of their children, with 59 per cent agreeing that they have bought their child a gift from their Christmas list which was deemed unsuitable. Do Christmas lists encourage children to be greedy? Reg Bailey, chief executive of Mothers" Union said: "Our survey shows that Christmas is the time of year when parents feel most pressurised into buying their children gifts which are over their budget, or inappropriate to their age. The majority of parents said that Christmas lists create disappointment for children if they do not receive all the gifts that they have asked for. We wouldn't want to spoil the traditions of Christmas, but we are asking parents to consider ditching the Christmas list specifically to help reduce this sense of disappointment at what should be a time of happiness for all the family.  The Archbishop said: "There's a steady pressure on us as parents to buy things for our children. It's a pressure that comes from our children and it often reflects the sheer volume of marketing that they are exposed to on a daily basis. The iniative is also backed by Helen Goodman, the shadow culture minister, who said: "I first started getting worried about pester power and the pressure advertises put on children in 1998. It was in the run up to Christmas and my son was 7 years old. The world just seemed full of people wanting to make money out of him. The pressure are obviously worse when many families are feeling squeezed.