Parents of teenagers should stop work?

Last week a statement in the press was made that parents of teenagers should stay at home to keep an eye on what their teenagers get up to. This seems to me to be a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

By the time children get to be teenagers their characters and much of their behaviour is already established.I think parents need to spend a lot more time with their young children, teaching them right from wrong, establishing boundaries and a sense of personal responsibility.

Most parents need to work in the present financial climate and, as a result, when they are with their children some of them seem to think that showing love and keeping their children happy means letting them do exactly what they want with next to no rules.

I don't think this makes children feel loved or happy. They need discipline and love in equal measures. Parents are the most influential people that a child will ever have in his life and if they get this right when their offspring are little they won't need to worry about them so much as they get older. After all these youngsters are very close to being adults having to earn a living and possibly look after their own children.

How can they possibly do this when their parents are giving them a message that they need to be watched in a way they weren't when they were in primary school.

This week there is a debate about how old a child needs to be to be left at home alone. I think it would be impossible to have a cut-off age that says today your child cannot be at home alone but tomorrow she can. There can be no hard rules, some 10 year olds are carers and have responsibility for younger siblings.

As a result they are probably more responsible and capable than a 15 year old who has had such a sheltered life that he could not even make a cup of tea. I think parents should be encouraged to use their judgement to make the decision that best suits their child.