Statistics collected by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), Bliary Poppins's favourite think tank, show that British teenagers are the worst behaved in Europe.
Result!
The statistics were published earlier this month, and show that 27% of British teens are regularly drunk, the highest in Europe. That compares with just 3% of French teenagers and 5% in Italy.
British teenagers are also the most aggressive, with 44% having been involved in a fight in the last year.
Britain also leads Europe with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe.
Now here's the rub, which backs up what I have said before on this site.
Are British teenagers more evil than European teenagers?
No!
Are teenagers, as a whole, simply more evil than they were decades ago?
No!
Researchers claim teenagers in Britain are more out of control because they have less contact with adults, particularly parents, than in the rest of Europe.
You see folks, teenagers need their parents to guide them through the "dark tunnel" of teenagehood.
Letting them aimlessly wander around the streets at night, or stuffing their rooms full of gadgets so that parental interaction is kept to a minimum simply does not constitute effective parenting.
Children/teenagers, despite what Nanny's education system is trying to do to their intellectual development, are not stupid. They pick up pretty quickly that they are not wanted by their parents.
What says "I don't want you" and "I'm not interested in you" more effectively, than ignoring your child and letting him/her do whatever he/she wants?
Nick Pearce, director of the IPPR, said that British teenagers are "disconnected" from adults around them. Hence, they lack the "soft social skills" displayed by teenagers in Europe who spend more time in the company of adults.
The researchers say that children who spend less time with their parents are more likely to commit antisocial behaviour.
The report also shows that participation in structured youth activities is better for young people, than unstructured youth clubs. Have I not already said that the old style boxing gyms above pubs, were an effective means of channeling teenage aggression?
How does Nanny propose to improve this situation?
Simple, put kids into state care earlier and make both parents go out to work!
44% involved in a fight in the last year?
ReplyDeleteReally?
Is that just street cred bravado speaking or are their reading and listening abilities so poor that most of them misunderstood 'fight' for 'fright' in the survey?
As with all surveys the information need to be used very carefully if at all ..
And in any case we all know that everyone living in the other part of Europe lie perpetually. 78% of us know that for a fact based on the last survey I read.
;-)
Ken,
ReplyDeleteIf I could, I'd like share an illustrative little anecdote from back in the days when most kids actually had two parents at home.
When I went off to college, I got to know a likable guy from a small town (in the US), who, as a teenager, had gotten into the usual small town mischief. Nothing terrible, just hormones and high spirits. He and some friends went out, acquired some alcohol (God knows how!) and proceeded to knock over mailboxes, drive their car through people's yards, and so forth.
Of course, my friend did have the misfortune to get caught. When his father came to pick him up from the police station, I suppose my friend made all the normal excuses and explanations. However, from the time his father picked him up, until the time they arrived home, his father said not one word. He simply drove home in silence, all the while ratcheting up my friend's sense of anxiety.
Now, back in these long ago days, people bred young, and the fathers of teenaged boys tended to be in their late 30s or early 40s, rather than in their 60s. They also did not spend their entire lives in front of computers.
Anyhoo, as soon as they'd arrived home and set foot in the door, my friend found himself upended by his collar and belt. The next thing he knew, he was flying across the room.
After coming to a rest against the far wall, he was told by his father never to do something that stupid again, and never to call home from a jail. That was the extent of the conversation, and they both went to bed.
I'm not naive enough to believe that such a parenting strategy would set every wayward kid straight, but if I reflect on some of my stupider adolescent episodes, I suspect it would be more effective than an ASBO. There's a lot to be said for teenaged boys being a bit afraid of their fathers.
I also realize that in today's climate such "hand's on" parenting would be viewed by many as a criminal offense, although I suspect that my friend's father was simply trying to express his concern for his son in a non-verbal manner. (I'm not being entirely sarcastic.)
Fred