Letter: Children can cope with real life

Sir: It may be true that life is more difficult for young people these days: an "ordinary" life has never seemed both less attractive and more difficult to attain for most people ("Eighteen is a dangerous age", 25 July).

Parents feel obliged to give their children a racing start in early life and support their grown-up children in ways unimaginable only decades ago. However, growing up has never been a la-la land fantasy and if you treat young people as if they can't cope with (or discover) real life, chances are they may never do so.

JANE PETERS

London SE5