[voodoo]

i was 18 when i first went to england.
a culture shock would be an understatement. drinking with friends was something rather normal in here as well, but there is a difference between getting drunk on occasions, and binge drinking every weekend.
my guess is that children are too free too fast. they can afford to be on their own while they are not yet mature enough. being able to support yourself from a day job at 16 is not exactly good. heck, had that been an option, i would have also ran away from home at 16, due to the obvious teenager-parents conflicts.