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This is the era we find we have to be far more open and direct than our parents ever were, no holds barred.

Everything is on the table, despite our own inherent shyness.

We have no choice but to speak about the dangers of drugs, sharing vapes, or transmitting nasties.

If they’re lucky, they might just get a bout of flu or covid. Less fortunate, and it could be meningitis or hepatitis.

These frank discussions are far-reaching. Both Shemina Begum and unwanted pregnancies get a look in.

Not exactly the world we wanted to participate in, but through employment and voluntary work, we’ve had first-hand experience of the secret lives of the young.

Our kids have had the extremism chat for years, but I fear we are late in addressing the many other temptations of their social lives.

We were too busy trying to protect their innocence to notice the ground shifting beneath our feet.

Now’s not the time for quiet modesty. Now’s the time for difficult conversations. Open, honest, direct.