Teen terror A father was jailed last week for restraining his daughter. George Trimble was jailed for a few hours last week for physically trying to prevent his 15-year-old daughert Susie from going to see her boyfriend. He held her by the wrist, but she managet to escape. Later, she told the police he'd assaulted her, and he was held at the station for questioning. Susie has now dropped the assault charges and the family is trying to patch things up. 1- Perhaps George doesn't see the problems his daughter have. After all, this is a serious eating disorder and he treats it lightly. 2- George doesn't seem to want his daughters to grow up and be adults in their own right. 3- George says Susie's behaviour got worse, but perhaps she was just rejecting her father's values in order to find her own. Perhaps she was starting to look for her own indentity. 4- George has a clear idea of the sort of boy who is right for his daughters - white, well-off and around their age. 5- This could have been a 'wake-up' call for her father to see what he could lose if he didn't start respecting her individuality. 6- He wants Susie to listen to him, but does he listen her? 7- George clearly sees himself as the victim in the affair. 8- Perhaps George is over-ambitious for his daughers and resent the sacrifices he made. You can't buy someone's love. 9- Maybe George unquestioningly took on the values of his parents and now resents Susie's questioning of his values. 10- George has worked hard all his life for his family and now feels very frustrated that his daugher isn't turning out the way he wanted. George's story I'm a respectable businessman and all i'd benn trying to do was keep my daughter away from drugs and bad company, and i ended up in a police cell. I've got two daughers, Helen and Susie. Helen's 17 and Susie 15. I've had no trouble with Helen, apart from a bit of bulimia. Susie's the problem. She used to be a lovely girl with her dolls and toys, but a few months ago her behaviour started to deterionrate. She started dating people who were much poorer than her and stayng out later at night. It was realyworrying and annoying. Her American boyfriend was coloured and much older then her, not at all suitable forher. We had some rows about this, and after one row she stormed out and went missing for a whole weekend. I think she was taking drugs. So then i started physically to stop her going out. But one night she went out when we'd gone to bed, and in the early morning the police brought her home. So i told her, 'You see what happens?' i tild her she'd only got herself to blame. After that, I hoped she would start listen to me. But she didn't. Then last week she wanted to go out againe. I had had enough. I told her, 'You're going to do as i tell you.' But she shouted she'd do what she liked. I grabbed her by the wrist, but she pulled herself free and ran out of the house. I was sick with worry. And then the police came and arrested me for assault! I was taken to the police station like a common criminal. After a few hours, they released me on bail, and i haven't benn charged. But it was rwally unpleasant. I'm just a normal father trying to save my little girl. My girls wer lovely when they were younger. I drove them to piano lrssons and drove them back. My wife always made sure they were dressed really nicely. We gave them everything we could, the sort of things I never had when i was a chicd. They were my pride and toy. I don't understand this rebellious stuff. I never spoke back to my parents. I never went out drinking. In those days, if you didn't like something you just put up with it. I was working when i was 16. and I've spend my life building up a business for my family, so they would have a beter future. and now this! I feel like my world has fallen apart. Work with a partner and discuss the following questions. 1 How do you feel about the fact that George was jailed? 2 If you were Susie, would you have gone to the police? Why? 3 How would you have handled the situation if you had been in George's shoes? 4 Why do you think George acted the way he did? Why do you think Susie acted the way she did? Justify your answer by referring to their characters, childhood and environment.