Colman Noctor: How to stop teenage boys from being radicalised 

"Last week, I wrote about shielding young children from horrific news stories. However, a different parenting task exists for parents of older teenagers, who will be all too aware of the Dublin riots and want to know how they came about."

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ONE of the major mistakes parents of teenagers make is shutting down their children’s views if they differ from theirs. The saying among young people’s mental health professionals, “the more you listen, the less they shout”, suggests if adults ignore their children’s grievances, they don’t just disappear but fester instead, become polarised and often emerge in challenging behaviours.

This dynamic can be seen in some of Ireland’s current societal issues, with the voices of people who feel disenfranchised not being heard by senior decision-makers, resulting in escalating protests. An example at the extreme end of the scale was seen in the civil unrest in Dublin city, on November 23. Judging by news footage of the riots, many involved were in their late teens and 20s.