I think this generation today might be the most challenged since the industrial revolution. Life is more complicated. Kids are exposed to so much so early through mass media and computers. This generation of kids can get into the World Wide Web or Internet and get information on just about anything. Children today are expected to deal with adult concepts very early and that's why they need attentive, interested parents.
Sexuality is more complicated.
We're exposing kids to sexual stimuli via the media. On the other hand, we're expecting them to abstain or be mature enough to practice safe sex. We have to remember that part of adolescence is having a sense of invincibility. Teenagers don't sense their own vulnerability. In order to conteract their teenager's invincibility, parents need to share newspaper or TV accounts of teenage accidents and deaths with them, rather than avoiding the subject.