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Often, I have been a keen observer on sporadic and healthy debates springing up in sparse threads which makes for very engrossing reading. I must say HDC members are very talented when it comes to exchanging ideas or generating a healthy debate, each respecting the other's point of view.

Which gave me the idea for this thread...every week, we shall have a Weekly HDC Debate on a raging current topic. You may choose your side in the poll - FOR or AGAINST - and then proceed to put forth your point of view, or argument, of why you have made that particular choice.

So, onwards into our very first topic...


There's been so many incidents involving teenagers going out of control since the Virginia Tech massacre. Lately in our own HDC forum, we have seen videos of shocking brutality committed by...teenagers!

News of teenagers rampaging through an Australian school made the rounds...gangs, punks, emulating gangsters...

Is today's teenager insecure? Or does he need psychiatric evaluation? Depression, anorexia, violent behaviour...these symptoms were more or less somewhat under control, but how aggressively has this poured out in the past few years.

Do parents share any sort of responsibility for their children's actions?

Should kids be let free to make their own decisions regarding company, friendship, choices and futures?

OR

Should parents monitor their kids closely till they are good enough to take their own decisions? Will a kid feel safe at a home where his / her parents are either a) very possessive and careful (or) b) very lenient and let him do his own stuff?

I know we have a lot of concerned parents as members of HDC, some of them even grandparents also. Things might have been different like...say...10 years ago, but today, what can you do...in your role as a senior in your family, to cope with such a situation?

Analyse, and feel free to put forward your view on this very critical problem which faces our society today.

And please be reminded that this topic is to generate a sort of healthy debate, and should not deteriorate into name-calling or verbal abuse.

Go ahead, folks.