There are days when you want to lock 'em up and throw away the key, but, really, teenagers and parents need their own space. One solution is to build a separate house. Think I'm joking? People are doing it. The latest trend is to have a "Shomera" from Irish company, Creative Housing Solutions, built at the bottom of the garden, where teens can listen to music, watch TV and have friends to visit.

Some parents might think this is like erecting a potential Satan's lair for experimental teenagers. But at least their friends still have to knock at the door of the main house for admittance, giving parents some clue as to what's going on. You want to install a hidden camera in the Shomera? That's your business.

If you really want to think outside the box, don't buy a house, buy a compound. How do you think those Kennedys stayed so close all those years? I met Rupert Grey, a barrister, and his family in Petersfield, in England, where they have created an entirely new style of living. Each part of the family has its own separate residence around a common courtyard. There's a communal main house with a kitchen, eating area, bedroom for the parents and other living space.

Across the courtyard, the teenagers have a house where they sleep. But the most spectacular building is a huge barn which they call "the library". It has areas for dining, talking, studying and listening to music. It's also great for parties.

The only disadvantage is that you have to walk through rain to get from one part of the commune to the other, but it doesn't seem to bother the Greys . . . they're the sort of people that have a Victorian bath with hot and cold running water in the middle of a field.