GROWING up as a teenager is never going to be easy, especially in a fast-paced adult world in which childhood is seemingly disappearing.

For today's youngsters, drugs are readily accessible, the peer pressure to be sexually active can be immense and the need to conform to the "right look" and fashion trends can be frightening.

This week, Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff called for age restrictions to be placed on the front cover of teen magazines.

He believes it is one medium in which inappropriate sexual content is accessible to teenagers. He has called on publishers to do some soul-searching about the effects these magazines could have on youngsters.

Worcestershire dance company, Dance at 8 has also had to deny claims made in a regional newspaper that it teaches youngsters how to emulate the raunchy moves of sexy pop idols Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears.

But with Britney's latest music video showing the diva slitting her wrists in a bath of water, is there any hope for teenagers to steer round such graphic images and information and reclaim a childhood?

Lorraine Thomas, chief executive of the Parent Coaching Academy which is opening a branch in the region next month, believes it is possible - and that parent power is the answer.

Setting up her academy two years ago, she has spent more than 2,000 hours advising everyone from social workers to anguished mothers, on how to cope with teenagers.

She believes children are growing up faster and have a lot more knowledge on adult issues because of the range of information available.

But Lorraine said parents can play a major role in helping to tackle teenage issues.

"Parents can be left terrified of the range of influences going on in teenage groupsand are desperate to find a way to try and protect their children," she said.

"Worries about drugs and sex are high up there, but the biggest issue that parents come to me about is a breakdown in communication with their son or daughter.

It can be this factor which pushes children out into their peer group, where they gain their biggest influences. So it's really about trying to improve the relationships with the parent, so if problems do occur, children have someone to turn to."

Ms Thomas said it was important to improve communications between both groups before a crisis point is reached.

"There will be a critical point when they are offered drugs or pressured into having sex and they need to have the confidence to say no. It will be then they need to have the confidence to approach their parents about it."

She believes as a parent, you need to be spending time with your children wisely, including day-to-day communication with sons and daughters.

"I would say to parents tell your child how much you love them and try to focus on their positives points and not always the negatives.

"Also act your age, don't be drawn onto the same level as your children and end up in the same arguments and tantrums.

"Never take things personally and think about how much talking and listening you do with your child each day.

"Most parents admit to 90 per cent telling and 10 per cent listening," she said.

"I think parents need to completely reverse this, and then progress can start being made."

WHAT DO PARENTS THINK? WE ASKED CITY SHOPPERS THEIR VIEWS

Ombersley father of two, Paul Bradley said: "These things are an influence but they grow up faster anyway. It is still a concern," said the 41-year-old.

"I think parents should monitor magazines the way they do with DVDs and the internet."

He thought magazines could be misleading but could also be educational within reason.

Mother-of-two Sarah Stacey, 36, of Lambert Road, St John's said teen magazines were completely unsuitable for younger children.

"I think they are under pressure from other parents," she said.

"It's not all media hype."

"Parents still have the right to say no, but often they bow down to peer pressure."

Mother and grandmother, Mary Rosborough, of Droitwich, said she would be very upset if she though her grandchildren were reading these magazines.

"Let's give them their childhood," she said.

"I think magazines about sex are inappropriate. I object to the sexual content."

Rebecca Jeynes, a 31-year-old mother of one from Blackpole, said children were definitely growing up too fast.

The hairdresser thought it could be potentially harmful for children to try to emulate certain pop stars.

"There's no need for it, we had dance routines when we were young and they weren't like that," she said.

Antony Beardmore, an 18-year-old student visiting from Stoke-on-Trent, said the television and pop stars were influential forces that made children grow up too fast.

"Even at my age, everything is faster than it used to be," he said.

"Children should just enjoy the lack of responsibility for as long as they can."