That little titbit set me thinking about the power of words and the inherent meaning held within them. Owls were considered wise old creatures and hence were given a name thought to encapsulate those qualities – 'Parliament'. (I would hasten to add that it was a name clearly thought up in a different age – indeed I shudder to think what collective noun some people would attribute to politicians today - although one or two constituents have offered suggestions!)

Words project qualities onto the things they describe. They therefore have a huge influence upon our perceptions. With this point in mind how do we then describe our youth? What collective nouns are commonly associated with our children?

A 'gang' of youths, hoodies, yobs, louts – all phrases that litter newspaper headlines and have passed into common usage. Our young are portrayed as little more than petty thugs. We are told the young are 'intimidating' and that we should be afraid. That is simply not a reality I recognise.

I'm not saying all young people are angels but in my experience most are fantastic individuals who should inspire pride in their parents and communities. They are around 20% of the population but 100% of our future.

Hastings Young Person's Council is made up of 32 Youth Councillors aged 13-21. Individuals keen to be involved with and make a difference to their communities.

Last year they signed up all the local secondary schools to the Anti-Bullying Charter – a Government initiative to help schools draw up and evaluate their anti-bullying policies. A pretty impressive achievement that disproves the all too common image of our youth as disengaged and loutish.

We as a Government are doing more to invest in out young – the number of apprenticeships is up, more funding for schools, greater investment in youth and leisure facilities. Two initiatives that particularly catch the eye are the Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund - £220million of Government money for young people to control, deciding how the money should be spent on positive activities and youth facilities in their area.

I think that's a great idea – give young people a real stake in their facilities and environment. Indeed I understand the Young Person's Council is putting together a bid to get funding for a youth centre – good luck to them.

The Government is investing in new youth facilities and schemes but that is only half the challenge. If we want to help our young reach their potential we, as individuals and as a society, must be willing to resist this stereotype of our kids as binge drinking, hoodie wearing, knife wielding criminals. The huge majority are not. They are simply kids – as we all were at one time.

So when you next encounter a hood wearing, body pierced younster don't shy away -say hello. You may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.