Comment: The trouble with kids today is...

Ah, those blue remembered hills! Then, of course, children roamed the countryside, climbed trees, picked bluebells, sailed wooden yachts and disappeared for afternoons on end. Now, as our report today reveals, by the age of 10 they are slapping on the lippy, plugging into the Net and imagining life with a mortgage, a motor and a mistress.

Some of this is misplaced nostalgia, but some of it is genuinely regrettable. The evidence shows that watching a lot of bad TV and silly videos addles the developing brain. In our cities, danger on the roads imprisons children far more effectively than the fear of strangers. So parents, it's in your hands. Smash your tellies and sell your cars.