I had an interesting exchange with ‘yeah its isabel xx’ on the subject of restricting children’s internet usage, which started me thinking about parenting.

I am a parent of a 17 and a 14 year old, and I am trying to figure out what went right.

• They do their homework without being asked and are successful at school.

• They are capable of conducting conversations in words constructed of more than one syllable.

• They never seem to have the mobile phones turned on.

• They like the grunge and punk music.

• My son doesn’t gag when I ask him to play golf with me.

• They have both read Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris and pronounced themselves atheist, without any parental encouragement. (My son appears to have started an eighth grade Atheists Club.)

• They are into science.

• They worry about the planet.

The only conscious effort I have made to direct their thinking has been make sure they had lots to read, to tell them what I think, and to entertain them with stories of the stupid things I did when I was their age.

Maybe I have just been lucky. I hear too many horror stories from my peers to think this is normal. Can readers contribute their philosophies, thoughts and ‘war stories’ on this subject. I am particularly keen to hear the other side – what the kids think.

Richard Oakes