As hard as it may be we sometimes have to be shaken up and made to realise that we live in a real world.

This week those caring people involved with damage limitation when relationships breakdown have done just that.

They have rightly brought to the forefront the potential problems children face as they watch their parents' relationship fall apart.

As they say, those politicians who preach about traditional family life should realise it is not just a matter of society pulling itself together. It is not just going to happen. In the real world divorce is here to stay.

We should all be grateful that groups like RELATE are now openly working to reduce the chance of young people suffering any kind of long term potential long-term damage. The Time to Talk service should be welcomed with open arms.

RELATE manager Nick Shillito says we have to be honest and face up to the fact that young people are often extremely distressed, confused and frightened when they have to stand by and watch the parental conflicts. He says it serves no purpose to torment ourselves with guilt about this. The fact is, none of us is perfect, and life is pretty difficult.

Those who have joined the fashionable cause of telling the world about the need to re-establish family values should take note of his moving statements.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.