YESTERDAY'S luxuries have become today's necessities, giving children a bad case of "affluenza", parenting experts say.

Increasing wealth, cheap toys, gadgets and time-poor parents have produced a generation of children who often can't tell the difference between need and greed, according to analysis from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

And this means kids take for granted things that were once considered luxuries - like having a bedroom of their own, their own mobile phone, a TV or computer in their room, and having the latest gadgets such as iPods, iPads, PlayStations and Xboxes.

"Psychologists may have an increasing role in assisting parents and children to appreciate the difference between needs and wants," said Prof Alan Hayes, director of the AIFS.

Gross household disposable income per person in Australia increased 72 per cent between 1998 and 2009, from $21,300 to $36,600.

But Prof Hayes warned the need to provide material goods could be a trap.

"The more affluent parents become, the more likely are they to revise their material ambitions upwards," he said in a recent article in In Psych.

Jodie Benveniste, director of Parent Wellbeing, said it was important to teach children the value of money.

"Although buying stuff can be enjoyable, research has shown that what's more beneficial is spending money on experiences as a family," she said.

The Mort family is aware of "affluenza". The Mort children - Georgia, 18, Olivia, 16, and Samuel, 11 - have their own bedrooms, an in-ground trampoline and pool, and their own computers.

Samuel has his own area in their Kew home for PlayStation and Wii.

"It makes me a bit sick thinking about it all, but it's important to us that the kids feel happy and safe," said their father Darren, 50, a lawyer and actor.

He and his wife Anne, 50, work hard to instil good family values in their kids.

"We sit around the table and have a family dinner every night. And we spend as much time together as a family, so the kids know how lucky they are," he said.

For more on how Australian children are now taking luxuries for granted go to the Herald Sun.