Teenagers: A User's Guide touched on the solution to all adolescent stigmas: equality. Any conflict arises from the fact that teenagers, by definition, are in the process of entering the adult world, and sharing the seemingly novel needs and problems of this new world. The more experienced group naturally impart some undoubtedly well-intentioned advice, which is met with resistance because of the deficit in experience, and this inevitably leads to conflict. The threshold into adulthood would be made easier if we weren't met with scorn and negative expectations as soon as we step through the door.
Tom Knight
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Suzanne Moore was pretty much formed as a person by 14? Blimey, it took me until I was 30, and I certainly wouldn't want to be the person I was at 14.
Ruth Povey
Leicester
I work with children and am stunned by the popularity of Minecraft. Its fanbase is, as the article says, predominantly seven- to 12-year-old boys, and some argue it has huge benefits for their creative abilities, and for learning development in autistic kids. But I'm not so sure: Minecraft seems to have a worryingly pacifying effect that's mistaken for genuine "time well spent". I see few traces of my own experience in what passes for a childhood these days – kids are addicted to such games and lazy parents rely on them as they once did TV to keep children quiet.
Christopher Dodd
Grayshott, Surrey
Many online multiplayer game servers are quite under-12s friendly, in that swearing, antisocial behaviour and giving grief are a banning offences. My nine-year-old son loves playing Minecraft creatively and building worlds by himself, but he also loves going online, joining up with strangers and going head-to-head in the many and varied Minecraft games. Some are violent, some are not (co-op farming, anyone?), but all have the attraction of meeting new people across the globe. The Minecraft servers are generally far more suitable for a primary school child than any other online multiplayer game I know of.
Bill Bennett
Hobart, Tasmania
My son, now five, fell down a few stairs when he was 18 months old and broke his collarbone. While he is not as bad as Richard O Smith, he can freeze on stairs and is very scared of heights. I have to go on school trips where stairs might be an issue so I can encourage and support him. I really hope we are working through his fears, and am so pleased Richard overcame his.
Pippa Vinall
Iver, Buckinghamshire
Ha, ha, good one – your substitute teacher took a leaf out of the internet troll's book in an attempt to send readers into middle-class parental apoplexy. If not, I'm going to be so cross.
Robin Farquhar
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
Nice to see yet another recipe for "pork belly", but when I grew up in the 1950s, we called it "belly pork". Can anyone enlighten me on when the words got reversed, and why?
Paul Carling
Shap, Cumbria
My husband and I loved the response to "Why can little kids ski easily and grown-ups can't?". We took our children skiing from a young age and they were soon whizzing past us adult learners. Even more annoyingly, now that they're grown-ups, they can spell "intracranial haemorrhage" and drink us under the table, and they're still much better skiers. On the plus side, they now go skiing without us, and I am delighted not to have to put my life in danger any more.
Lucy Paisley
Taunton
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