The next day his furious neighbours, humiliated parents and police were demanding answers. Appearing shirtless with his nipple ring proudly on display, a defiant and remorseless Corey shrugged his shoulders and refused to apologise.

Child psychologist, Professor Matt Sanders, who heads the University of Queensland’s Positive Parenting Program, believes teen delinquency is at the highest level in his 30 year career. He stated that one in five parents is having serious problems with their teenagers, while at any point in time, the proportion of parents who are also worried about their children is about one third.

There are a group of kids out there who are from middle-class homes who have grown up with a great sense of entitlement, who probably push the boundaries much more than other kids do.

They want a lot, demand a lot and don't have a lot of respect for their parents and are in some ways little time bombs.

Prof Sanders says peer pressure is now a bigger issue than ever because technology has made kids connected all the time.

There is an overall increase in chronic behavioural and emotional problems and teachers are saying these problems are occurring earlier and more severely than in the past…. There is bullying and harassment of kids through texting and the internet in the form of highly stressful peer pressure that was not there before.

A recent study of Generation Y by the New South Wales bureau of Crime Statistics and Research revealed that almost one in 10 people born in 1984 had a criminal record by the time they turned 21. Young men and women born after 1984 were increasingly using SMS and the internet to gather in numbers to intimidate police, the study said.

Victoria a Police Commissioner Christine Nixon says an aggressive, fearless and increasingly violent Generation Y is forcing police to rethink tactics as more people under 25 are willing to defy authority.

In Queensland, the latest Children's Court annual report shows 15 and 16-year-olds are the most represented group in the court.

Leading Australian child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg says the nation is facing a parenting crisis. “There is a spectacular lack of understanding around parenting teens in Australia," he says.

This is a good example of a major societal problem. Kids change when they become teenagers and parents need to change. The initial responsibility lies with the parents. Every parent in Australia should be experts in their own child.

In an apparent response to this situation, the Queensland State Education Minister Rod Welford has blasted parents for failing to socially educate their children and has ordered teachers to pick up the slack. Mr Welford said today's teenagers were the most "under-parented generation in our history" and dramatic changes were needed to stem bullying, drug and alcohol abuse, depression and other youth behavioural problems.

Announcing a controversial "social and emotional" education strategy to start in state schools this year, Mr Welford said teachers would be asked to play a bigger parental role. "Parents have dropped the ball," he said.

"No one wants to admit it, but as a society we have outsourced child-raising in ways where kids are missing out on learning those basic skills of life."

- Comment -

The above articles reveal the increasing concern in many areas of society about the condition of youth today. Why is this generation so rebellious, aggressive and unrepentant? What are the values these children receive from those who are in a position of authority over them? Are these attitudes a consequences of bad parenting or other role models promoted in our culture? What part has the education system contributed? What deterrent has the criminal justice system played?

ENGAGE believes the time has come where dialogue needs to take an all encompassing approach to this question, and not single out one area as the solution to all ills. The future of this country and especially the lives of the next generation deserve our attention to this dilemma.

1“Schools to help children with social problems” by Darrell Giles, Courier Mail, 19 January ’08.