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Increasingly, we discover that the adolescents in our midst — though by no means all of them — have some kind of empathy deficit.

They do not seem to understand the kindness of others. Indeed, the softest, kindest suggestion is often rebuffed with an inexplicable rage that doesn’t seem to suit the situation at all.

Encountering these strange reactions, we shrink away, confused, more than a little hurt. If we’re feeling charitable, we might delve into a tome on teenage psychology, grasping for explanations.

But, more likely than not, dinner will just be left unserved, as silence descends on the household. It’s all a great puzzlement, how those darling little dears turned into these creatures dropping offensive insults with no shame.

Feeling charitable, we attribute it to faulty wiring in their frontal cortex, not yet fully developed. They’ll grow out of it, we console one another, hopefully. Or so we pray.