Catherine Conlon: Why we must address raising of the backseat generation

Our children are trapped in the back seat of their parents' cars and losing independence. But it doesn't have to be this way, writes Catherine Conlon

The ‘backseat generation’ is defined as those children who are escorted everywhere and 'whose time-space behaviour is characterised primarily by adult-organised activities'. 

One in three young people in Ireland are engaging in ‘hazardous and harmful’ drinking, a new report from the Health Research Board (HRB) has revealed. A survey of 15–24-year-olds found that while young people are drinking later in life, more are engaged in hazardous drinking and are developing alcohol related problems.

Use of ecstasy and cocaine is also increasing — Irish young people now have the second-highest rates of use in Europe. The HRB state that there is a clear link between mental ill-health and substance use. Young adults with alcohol dependence are more likely to have severe anxiety, and cannabis users are six times more likely to report mental ill-health than non-cannabis users.