The adventures of the Famous Five, soon to be made into a cartoon series, will seem very alien to today's over-supervised youngsters

IF the Famous Five were alive today, they'd probably be in care. And their parents would definitely be in the slammer for wilful neglect of their children. More than 60 years since Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog were first introduced to the public, their adventures are to be made, yet again, into a TV series, but this time a cartoon.

Goodness knows what modern children will make of them. Probably think it's science fiction. It will certainly seem as if it comes from another planet.

Barely had the Famous Five arrived home from boarding school then their parents got rid of them again. Feet barely touched the ground. Sent them off in a horse drawn caravan, or across to wild islands, or the top of mountains, with barely a letter to a friendly farmer's wife by way of keeping them safe. And all without adults. Or even a mobile phone.

The only adults the Famous Five ever come across are smugglers, robbers, spies, wicked circus trainers and those farmers' wives who are given to saying, "Oh Master Dick , you are a caution", which I never understood when I was seven years old and still don't to this day.

But it's that strange adult-free world that will seem like a foreign country to today's children. Even without the spies and robbers.

Today's children are almost never out of adult sight and supervision. Their summer holidays will be largely safe and supervised. As they move seamlessly from summer club to football training, tennis coaching, drama club, swimming sessions, play sessions, staying with granny and outings to theme parks, there will nearly always be an adult hovering anxiously by.

Which means children have less reason, opportunity or need to think for themselves. If there's a problem, they turn to an adult. If there's a row, they appeal to an adult to sort it out. If they're tired, hungry or thirsty, there's an adult nearby to deal with that too.

It's wonderful, it's safe, it's probably eminently sensible. But it doesn't do much to help them grow up or learn how to cope.

Part of growing up is learning to make decisions, get on with each other in your little gang, knowing when to speak up and when to shut up, when to go along with the gang or when to go your own way. It's to do with sorting out problems - sprained ankle, missing bus fare, broken bike chain, dodgy old man in the next street.

It's also to do with learning to keep yourself occupied and entertained when you've not much money but an awful lot of time.

Summer holidays - those long days when free range children were largely left to their own devices - actually provided some of the most vital learning experiences an adult needs to cope with the world.

Faced with problems and adventures, the Famous Five sorted them out. Our lot would just get on the mobile and call for help. You don't learn much that way.

Maybe it's no coincidence that more and more adult children are still living at home - in their twenties and even thirties. Perhaps it's just because of money - student debt crashing into impossible mortgage payments and spiralling rents.

Or maybe it's because this is a generation which has always had adults hovering in the background, taking care of them and picking up the bill. So why change?

Maybe, at last, the Famous Five could teach them a thing or two.

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Published: ??/??/2004