BEING a teenager can be difficult; being the parent of a teenager is harder still.

The youngsters are struggling to leave childhood behind and assert their independence. Recognising this, parents allow them more freedom.

Then the worries begin. The teenagers may be out of sight, but they are rarely out of mind. Responsible parents will try to discover where their offspring are going, who they are with and what time they are coming back. But communication is not always easy.

Now some parents in Haxby and Wigginton are going to learn more than they expected about the movements of their children. Police have written to them with a simple warning: your child is mixing with drug dealers.

After the initial shock, most will welcome the letter. Too often, parents are the last to know about the risks their teenage children are running.

This might be due to their own self-deception: they cannot believe their beloved son or daughter could ever become involved with drugs. It might be that they have tried, vainly, to be vigilant.

Or, in a minority of cases, parents simply ignore what their children are up to.

The police letter gives families the chance to do something before it is too late. Parents can talk through the risks with their children, and try to guide them away from the peddlers.

And for those few who have taken little interest in their teenager's movements, it acts as a wake-up call.

By issuing the letters, police are implicitly asking parents to accept some of the responsibility for dealing with the problem. This could be viewed as an extension of the Too Hot To Handle campaign, which aims to tackle burglaries by squeezing the market for stolen goods.

If Haxby and Wigginton parents are able to steer their children clear of the dealers, they will have to move on.

Meanwhile, parents have a right to ask the police what they intend to do about the pushers. Officers are able to identify the offenders to the point where they can send out these carefully targeted letters. Why are the dealers not therefore arrested and charged?

The police may be planning to take action in future. In that case, the decision to inform parents of the danger should be viewed as a welcome interim measure to help prevent more youngsters falling prey to the drug dealers.

No doubt other forces will watch the results with interest, as every community faces the same menace.

see NEWS 'Parents warned on drug dealers'

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