When most of us think back to our teen years, we think of a world where school was comfortably predictable, 'bills' and 'mortgage' belonged safely to the vocabulary of parents, and free time really meant free time. Yet it seems that what were supposed to be the best years of our life have now become some of the hardest.
Just last week, a report from the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health raised the red flag on the "sexual health crisis" facing Britain's teenagers and warned that young people are increasingly "defining their lifestyle" by alcohol, drugs and risky sexual behaviour. This, the report said, was being encouraged by the "positive media coverage" of celebrity behaviour involving sex, alcohol and drugs.
The pressure on young people is enormous, whether it is to succeed, to be beautiful, to have the latest gadgets, or to fit in. Then there is the added confusion that exists in trying to figure out just where you belong and why on earth you should bother - with anything. Yet the coping mechanisms seem to have changed over time. While teenagers used to play loud music, drink a little bit or swear occasionally to vent their frustrations it seems the solution today for most teenagers is to indulge in even more alcohol, even more drugs and even more sex. The line of excess has been well and truly crossed.
My mother was always a passionate gardener and there were times I would offer my "help" as a child. The only job I was ever entrusted with - much to my disappointment - was to pull out the weeds. And pull them I did, whole bunches of them. Yet it was always a job failed. My one fatal mistake? As my despairing mother told me, I only pulled out the leaves but not the root.
The IAG report suggests a holistic and joined up intervention, bringing together all major related agencies and governmental departments to work on a strategy that will "discourage" young people from using drugs and alcohol, which it hopes will in turn reduce the number of risky sexual encounters they enter into.
