Small boy, big blazer

Something of a rite of passage in the Shanahan household this week as Rory moved up to senior school. Money's now being bet on whether he'll grow into his new blazer before he wears it out - and the tie has already slipped down the shirt front, with the top button open after just two days as an upper school boy.

Sophie moved into the juniors at PRPS, meaning my Generation Ys are now at three different schools, providing the usual logistical nightmares when it comes to mornings, school events and non-overlapping-holidays. Of course, L_B didn't make the pre-school photo shoot. She's a teenager and had an extra day's holiday. So at 8am was still fast asleep. All credit to her though, she's first out most mornings and moved yesterday from six weeks of total laziness to being first up and dressed in the house.

So, with the most tenuous of links, my task today is to write about Generation Ys going into the workforce - those Millennials, born after 1980 who have graduated in the 21st century.

Quite different from my generation, they've grown up without first hand knowledge of the Cold War, Vietnam, the Falklands - and have virtually no knowledge of life before the Internet.

Few have ever known failure - though many have collected certificates for lower attainment success. Umbillically joined to their phones and lap tops they're truly the first electronic generation - networked to hundreds and used to living life vicariously.

Pampered by parents, protected from criticism by an education system built on praise, and most likely to have seen death and destruction only on PS2, the world of work can come as a rude awakening to a generation who've had to make few decisions for themselves. But they're our future - no, they're now.........and make a fun subject to write about on a Friday.