Hamburg - Horses, dogs and cats make children happy, topping the wish list of most children under 10 years, a survey conducted by the German Toy Manufacturing Association found.

Although there were differences according to age and sex, some 21.9 per cent of the children interviewed said that having a horse, dog, cat and even a tiger would make them happy.

The wish list changes among children over 10 years with boys especially preferring to have a computer, according to the poll.

Around 8 per cent of the children said they wished to have a happy family without divorce and squabbling. This category was especially important for children aged nine to 12 years and was overall third-most important to all the children interviewed.

This was followed by a holiday. Asked what their favourite activity with their parents was, most boys said they wished to go to a football match while most girls preferred going to a public swimming pool.

Only 2.4 per cent of the children said they wanted more money while only 5 per cent said good marks in school were important. (dpa)