On the positive side, the number of young parents enrolled in school has tripled since 1981. This may provide them with a better chance of eventually raising their incomes than was the case 15 years ago. The teens in question were the older siblings of today's Baby Boomers. Concern about young people seems to characterize every generation, who anxiously envision that 'the latest crop' will turn out worse than the last one. B.C. Of course, the fact that past generations had the same concerns we have now doesn't mean we should be complacent about today's youth.
Young people do make mistakes, and sometimes the results can be tragic.
So here's to being a teenager, and taking your best shot at what you've got. For adults, the challenge is to give Canada's young people the support they need, and then trust that they will give life their best shot. A growing proportion of young people in Canada were born in other countries.