[mobertol]

It's an age-old problem. Young people want to push boundaries -think what they're feeling and doing is new, risky and that the older generation know nothing about it.

You just can''t put an old head on new shoulders. As a mother of two young men, I have a daily battle against the "yes, mum", pat on the head, eyes raised to heaven, poor dear what does she know about anything...mentality. Then i'm the one who has to pick up the pieces and make everthing look tidy.

As a parent you can only try to give good ground rules, be open-minded and keep talking about things. There is almost too much information out there - they believe everything they read, and think they know everything already. It certainly doesn't help when you have certain adults praising experimentation and saying drugs are OK if produced in a nice sanitized environment and denying the truth about their effects.

Life's real highs come from much simpler and more genuine feelings and experiences.