A recent study of parents and children by Enesco Corporation, a leader in the gifts and collectibles industry, suggests that children -- and their families -- benefit from the sense of responsibility, family values and self-esteem that building and maintaining a collection instills. But while parents value the special qualities they believe their children develop through collecting, most children surveyed say they collect just for fun.

The "Enesco Study of Children's Attitudes on Collecting" was commissioned to better understand the collecting habits and preferences of children. In the study, questionnaires were mailed to 3,500 households identified as having a child age 3-13 years old. Of those who responded, 1,626 households had a child collector and formed the basis for the study. Here are some results:

Character-Building Benefits

When asked what collecting has meant for their child collector, adult respondents agreed on some very significant benefits for the child-and family. A vast majority (83 percent) said collecting has allowed the child to learn responsibility, 78 percent believe collecting has been a good activity for the family, 72 percent said collecting has helped to teach the child the value of money, and 68 percent said collecting enhances the child's self-esteem.

An overwhelming majority of parents (88 percent) agreed that they encourage their child's collecting.

While their parents perceive a range of benefits from collecting, children surveyed were most likely to say they like adding to their collections simply because they enjoy playing with or looking at the collections (46.4 percent). Twenty percent said they most enjoy watching their collections grow, while 13 percent said they like to find pieces to add to their collections. Child respondents whose favorite collection is collectible figurines and plates were most apt to say they like watching their collections grow (38.1 percent).

Collection Favorites

When asked what they collect, child respondents provided more than 30 different categories ranging from sports cards to dolls to bugs. Forty-two percent of the child respondents said they collect sports cards, the most popular collectible item, according to the survey. Other popular collectibles include pogs (34 percent), stuffed animals (27 percent), dolls (24 percent), miniature cars (23 percent), action figures (23 percent), collectible figurines (18 percent), coins (18 percent) and building toys (17 percent).

Enesco Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stanhome Inc., Westfield, MA, a New York Stock Exchange company trading under the symbol STH. (NAPSI)