When I went to my local bookshop in search of advice after a particularly traumatic phase with my two teenage sons, I couldn't find anything much except helpful books for teenagers themselves - and sometimes they seem so empowered, you wonder if they need any more support.Nick Fisher, who's written several such books (The Complete Guide to Kissing, How to Live with a Willy) says British publishers don't take the market seriously, unlike those in the USA, where a self-help book can be a bestseller. What models have we got to fall back on now? Howard Marks? As the author of Life After Birth, Kate Figes says parenting is no longer about making things as easy for oneself as possible; instead it's all so child-centered that the parent almost disappears. Though according to Professor Howard Parker, co-author of the forthcoming Illegal Leisure, which studied 700 teenagers for five years, there's still a huge generation gulf when it comes to drugs. "In the Sixties it was mainly middle-class students, doing it away at college Now they're much younger, and they're still at home. Many parents can get their heads around cannabis use, but most teenagers are too concerned about their parents' mental health to let them know about the other drugs they're taking." And let's not even start on money and clothes.We've tried not to make the same mistakes our parents made - no rigid authoritarianism, no smacking, lots of explaining - but it was a whole lot easier before that sweet boy you were so close to turned overnight into Harry Enfield's Kevin - or something far worse, if Kids is anything to go by.
Or when your son tells you to fuck off when you ask him nicely to empty the rubbish. Or when he's smoking skunk at 14. We know what being stoned looks like, unlike our own parents, who thought drug-taking meant deathly pallor and arms riddled with track marks. You may think you're hip and part of popular culture, but that doesn't help when your daughter tells you she's staying the night with her best friend and you discover that after the party they both slept rough in the park (and the friend's parents apparently don't mind). YOU'VE SEEN Finley Quaye in concert, you smoke the occasional joint, you enjoyed Trainspotting and you've seen Kids. So are you 14 or 43? In the Nineties, boundaries between middle youth and real youth are so blurred as to make a parent's life extremely confusing, never mind a teenager's. But it was just a great team performance.Ray Parlour of Arsenal.He [Parlour] has been absolutely brilliant this season.
His energy, his ability on the ball has just been a revelation. He's been tremendous.Pat Rice Arsenal's assistant manager.I just told them one team has the best of first halves sometimes But they [Newcastle] are good players. They believe they're good players and were able to go and show it in the second half.Kenny Dalglish Newcastle manager.I will sit down and plan for next season but maybe I will take 48 hours first and take a small breather It is not over We have a feast tonight. Winning the League was brilliant but winning them both together is fantastic.Lee Dixon of Arsenal.It's just a testament to the players who have come into the team. They've adapted to Arsenal's type of game superbly.Nigel Winterburn of Arsenal.Nicolas [Anelka] was brilliant up front today, he's always a constant threat; you just have to put the ball near him Marc Overmars scored a great goal.
