ANY parent knows that to raise a child is to tackle the toughest obstacle course ever created. It requires hard work, courage, a great deal of luck, and even then no one is guaranteed to emerge unscathed at the finishing line.

Prince Charles has had to face what all parents dread in modern Britain - the call that their children have gone off the rails by indulging in drugs and underage drinking.

Like Tony Blair after his son Euan's drinking binge, the Prince of Wales has found himself in the humiliating position of having a teenage son whose bad behaviour has hit the headlines.

But only extremely unwise parents will gloat because most of us know all too well that it is a case of "There but for the grace of God go I".

Prince Charles appears to have acted decisively by sending Harry to speak to recovering addicts at a drug rehabilitation centre in London. It is important that the young prince hears at first hand about the terrifying damage drugs can inflict, and we applaud the decision to send him there.

Hopefully, he has had his eyes opened and will heed the warnings to make sure drugs are no longer part of his life.

But just as disturbing are the reports that Prince Harry has been an underage drinker for some time and that boozing has led to allegations of yobbish behaviour.

Counselling about alcohol abuse is equally as important as educating young people about the perils of drugs.

It is a year and a half since Euan Blair's indiscretions left the Prime Minister in an embarrassing spot, but it has so far proved to be an isolated lapse of the kind most youngsters make at some time in their lives.

Like Prince Harry, Euan has to cope with the unimaginable pressures that come with being a member of a famous family, but he has managed to put the past behind him.

For the sake of the Royal Family, which is fighting to overcome a decline in popularity, it is to be hoped that Prince Harry will also learn his lesson well.

And the reward for his father's firm response will be no more lurid headlines.