Who are you?...We live in an age where gossip may be the strongest form of communication.

We live in an age where gossip may be the strongest form of communication. As a society we have promoted voyeurism to the point of saturation within our daily lives. Our familia rarity with the business of others is beyond reproach, although knowledge of self is sadly lacking for many.

As a parent of three my major focus is to provide a consistent base from which they can explore the world around them. Whilst my children are of a very young age I believe that their journey towards self discovery has long since begun. I don't intend to throw a switch at the age of eighteen, which will allow their minds too engage for the first time and propel them to greatness in their chosen field, nor should they. Even at such an early age we, as a family, discuss the need to be able to determine the right course of action for you as an individual whilst appreciating the circumstances that affect those around you. We talk of Neapolitan ice cream and its similarities to the human brain and associated behaviours. Depending on the age of your children you may wish to relate another food type but for mine most of us can relate to the magnetism of ice cream. We talk of the risks of eating only from the "dark" side and that sometimes-boring old vanilla has to be your first port of call. Preventing stomach upsets from over indulgence and when to add the sprinkles or topping are also topics we broach. Adult thinking occurs in the Pre-frontal cortex, which is not unlike the vanilla whereas immature, reckless and negative behaviour stems from the Limbic system also known, in our family, as the chocolate. Understanding the need to moderate your thinking accordingly is a valuable weapon.

A unique example aside, the issue of self-awareness is of paramount importance particularly when topics such as drug use or sexual endeavour are on the table. Most people, regardless of age, will have stories involving negative peer pressure, with those who have passed through such challenging times unscarred often displaying large amounts of self-awareness. This phenomenon is no fluke as the greater your personal arsenal of consciousness the greater your capacity to process pressure and or influence and deal with it accordingly.

Could it be time for the school system to balance Pythagoras theorem with a class based on acquiring self-knowledge? Personally I would have benefited form a class in which I could have been prompted to explore my own person as opposed to being enamoured with that of others. At the age of seventeen I paid a high price as a slave to peer pressure thus learning the hard way to develop an individual awareness. With some appropriate guidance and boundaries young people have the ability to create and refine knowledge of self the easy way, or at the very least in an easier way. For there is nothing worse than lying on your back, spoon in hand, staring at an empty ice cream container knowing that the last spoon full consumed was one too many.