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12th October 2009: Almost one in three young people 'lack parental support'
The Prince's Trust says parents can underestimate how important adult approval is to young people.
Just under a third of the 1,109 young people aged 16 to 25 who took part in The Prince's Trust charity's study said neither of their parents had witnessed or celebrated the proudest moment of their lives with them. For many, their proudest moment was getting into university, passing their driving test, getting married or having a baby.
Just over one in eight said neither of their parents had even noticed their proudest moment.
The trust said their study showed a high proportion of parents underestimated how important a parent's approval was to their children. More than half (54%) of the young people said they valued their parents' opinions more than anyone else's. Just under a quarter of the young people valued their partners' views more than anyone else's.
Ginny Lunn, director of policy and development at The Prince's Trust, said: "There is a real danger that parents and other adults underestimate just how important adult approval is to young people.
"Parents and other adults are role models. Without the right parental support, young people are at risk of falling into the wrong crowd, which can lead to drugs, crime or worse."
Samantha, 19, from Bristol, whose proudest moment – passing her GCSEs – was unknown to her mother because the pair were not speaking to each other, said: "Having children is all about recognising their achievements and watching them grow up.
"Children feel they have worked for nothing and are not as clever as they are when their achievements are ignored."
The young people involved in the study were not connected to the trust's work.
