Could there be an element of truth in a trite old cliché?

I HAVE assumed, some might say rather too eagerly, what I regard as a one of the most crucial roles of being a parent (maybe it’s a dad thing?), and that is to occasionally, gently burst my teenage daughter’s bubble when she is lamenting how tough young people have it today.

I even have (much to my daughter’s fury) a handy catchphrase. As she regales us with the sheer unfairness of school, exams, finding a job, the cost of going to university, life in general – and that NO-ONE before her has had things as hard – a cheery “there is nothing new under the sun” is sure to inflame the discussion further!

Despite the brickbats, it is a role that seems increasingly important, because elsewhere – from politicians, in the media and on social media – the exceptionalism of the plight of today’s youngsters is constantly being ratcheted up.

So, are the problems faced by young people that exceptional?

The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus lockdown will impact young people most, we are told, so let’s start with the economy.

There have been four pretty severe recessions during my lifetime. I was born into the 1970s, that dismal decade of 26% inflation, the three-day week, power cuts and the winter of discontent. After dragging my two brothers and me through that, my parents said hello, now with a daughter too, to the 80s and three million people signing on unemployed and the cost of living rising by 20%. But we muddled through.

My first foray into the jobs market was rather unfortunate – it coincided with the convergence of the implosion of the Lawson boom of the late 80s and Britain’s disastrous membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. Three million unemployed, again, interest rates doubling and house repossessions hitting record levels.

A ‘challenging’ time to be looking for your first job.

True, there was some respite during the remainder of the 90s and into the first half of what I believe is referred to as the ‘noughties,’ until things finally caught up with those dodgy bankers and the world economy crashed in 2008.

Overall, then, in economic terms, it’s a case of ‘been there, done that and got the t-shirt.’

Schools and exams are another common complaint for today’s young people. Tell me about it! My cohort were the second year to take the allnew GCSE, which replaced O Levels and CSEs. And get this, we weren’t consulted about the change.

My cohort were also among the first to have completely free higher education taken away, with the introduction of loans instead of maintenance grants. Sound familiar?

I am not saying being young “in my day” was exactly the same as it is now. We faced silly little things that young people today don’t, like nuclear armageddon – even in a tiny East Devon village a nuclear siren would be tested while you were out playing with your friends. That wasn’t scary at all…

So, I cannot subscribe to the exceptionalist view of how hard it is growing up today.

This is not to say today’s young people don’t face challenges. Of course they do, and to them they no doubt seem unique and novel, but largely they really aren’t that exceptional – just the swings and roundabouts of growing up.

And our role as the grown-ups should be to provide some context and re-assurance that things will be OK, not feed their anxiety.

To help, you could say something like “there is nothing new under the sun”. Or perhaps not.