As the must-have gadget list for today's teenagers continues to grow in complexity and cost, parents are increasingly worried that their kids are armed with an array of expensive tools that can be broken, lost or stolen, the Courier Mail wrote this week.

Research by NRMA Insurance has found that 40 per cent of Queensland students take portable electronics to school and that 70 per cent of their parents worry that the digital devices will get stolen.

NRMA Insurance spokesman Frank Adler said parents were not only facing the cost of buying the devices but were also worried about the price of replacing them when they went missing.

"Kids can be really attached to their portable technology but are often in situations where it can be lost or stolen, such as school or sports events," he said.

More than half of parents said they let their children take technology to school because they needed it for their classes or for staying in touch.

Suzanne Lucas understands how important technology is in the life of her 14-year-old son Damien, who is in a selective IT course at Corinda State High where all his work is done on his laptop. "Damien does not use paper books. All Damien's stuff is on the computer," Mrs Lucas said.

"That laptop computer stays with him 24/7 including school holidays."

He also takes a mobile phone to school and an iPod Touch. He hasn't lost anything, but his headphones have broken at school and he's had to replace his iPod once.

Damien said the trick is to make sure you don't get out too much technology from your bag at once.

"I'm usually careful with my technology. I always feel my pockets to make sure I've got everything," he said.

Damien clearly loves his gadgets and is hard pressed to name his favourite piece of technology. But he is much quicker to name the iPhone as the one gadget he craves to own.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that 31 per cent of children have a mobile phone while more than three-quarters of children aged 12 to 14 have a mobile of their own.

The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association says more than 200,000 mobile phones are reported lost or stolen each year, which equates to one mobile phone going missing every two or three minutes.

The association says phones are most likely to be stolen from cars (28 per cent) or social venues (20 per cent) ahead of the home (9 per cent).

Tips on how to mind your mobile can be found here.