A youth project, Brixton, south London
Sabrina Smith-Henry, 17
Father: painter and decorator
Mother: housewife
Parents' quality of life rating: 9/10 (mum), 6/10 (dad)
"My mum used to work with teenagers with problems, which she enjoyed, but she stopped to look after my baby sister. She's going back soon, though. She's divorced from Dad but he lives nearby. Apart from the house being too small, Mum's happy; she's bubbly, has lots of friends, doesn't let things get her down and we all get on well. She lives for the family. I'd like to live her life, minus a few children!
"My dad's quality of life I'd give about a six, though I don't really know as I only see him a few times a month. He's very old-fashioned: what he says goes. It stops him from enjoying life as much as he could."
Jody McIntyre, 16
Stepfather: student
Mother: artist
Parents' quality of life rating: 5/10
"My mum was a single parent for a long time, and still provides nearly all the household's income. She works too hard and the pressure of being the main earner stresses her out. I'd love to see her kick it back in Hawaii with no responsibility. My step-dad's a student who also provides for us and looks after my sister two days a week. So they both have a lot of stress in their lives, and me being disabled - I've got cerebral palsy - doesn't help. But they have huge positives too, like an amazing family - especially me! - loads of people who really love them, and they're getting married.
"We don't have much money but Mum still takes us on amazing holidays. Someone else might say 'I can't be bothered' but she seizes opportunities. That said, I have very different ambitions and making money will be a priority. I think it'll be easier for me than it has been for them, too; I'm doing well at school, and I'm confident, hahahaha!
"Is there anything I'd do differently from my mum? If you'd asked me six years ago, I would have said, 'how long have you got?' My mum was a single mum and me and my brother needed more support. But things seem to work out well if you work hard, and I'm happy and proud of her and my stepdad."
Matthew Zelic, 16
Father: IT consultant
Mother: computer programmer
Parents' quality of life rating: 7/10
"My parents both have good jobs and we live in a fairly good area in a decent house. In terms of whether they've made enough of their lives, yeah, probably - though I doubt they ever dreamed of the careers they've ended up with. They don't complain but you can tell they don't like work much. I aim to be a doctor and I'm already choosing the courses to get me there.
"My parents' biggest struggles were probably their childhoods and coming to a new country - my mum from Nigeria, where there was civil war, and my dad from Croatia. Life will be easier for me: the education system here can open doors for you. Most of my friends want to be football stars or music legends but the chances are minimal. We are told 'you can do anything if you put your mind to it'. But that's not true."
Georgia Gill, 15
Father: "Something to do with tax"
Mother: immigration officer
Parents' quality of life rating: 10/10
"My mum and dad broke up around the time I was born but they're friends now. They both have a good work-life balance. I know my mum is a happy person, and she shows her happiness too - unless she's tired after work. The things that make their lives worth living are their children and their jobs - and, with my mum, also her bubbly personality.
"I'd be happy to live her life, she's a good role model: works hard but still has time for herself and her family. My dad could have been around more when I was younger - he missed out on things and we've never been on holiday together, but he's making the effort now."
Zuri Jarrett-Boswell, 15
Father: playwright
Mother: secretarial work from home
Parents' quality of life rating: 7/10
"We're not, like, rich, but a good quality of life comes from getting by on what you have and not wanting everything. Both my parents have made a lot of their lives. My dad's gone from working in factories to being a playwright. It was a struggle for him to come here from Jamaica and find work, so to have gone from that to having his plays in theatres is a major achievement. He's very hard-working. So's my mum - she tried for years to make it as a proof-reader, but didn't, so she launched her own secretarial business instead. My mum does complain she's tired and all that but I think that goes on with every parent. They both still have time to enjoy themselves ... sometimes.
"Having children by different people affected them. Sometimes when you don't do stuff the right way, you learn from it and make things better next time. They've been really great parents and made a lot of sacrifices for me. I'm hoping I can do the same for my kids when I grow up, though I think I'd prefer to marry a woman, settle down and stay close. Experience makes life fuller. But for both of them - and me - it's family that makes life worth living. They're your blood, your life."
A private school, west London
Tom McFarland, 17
Father: sports journalist
Mother: vice principal of dance college
Parents' quality of life rating: 10/10
"A lot of my friends' parents have jobs they feel trapped in. Mine are doing what they want to be doing. There are times when I wish my parents were as rich as my friends', but I respect them for doing what they love.
"My generation has had it more on a plate than theirs, and I think we lack ambition as a result. Before, you had to have real skills. Nowadays, you see people like Jodie Marsh getting rich."
Josh Lloyd-Watson, 16
Father: owns an advertising business
Mother: owns a PR business
Parents' quality of life rating: 9/10
"My parents have done well. They're not employed. 'Employed' is running like sheep following everyone else and being told what to do. I'd say I've got a harder life ahead of me than they had, because I've come from a public school. Everything is a competition: you've got to do better, you've got to be in the top per cent of the country. There's always going to be someone better out there. Original ideas are harder to come up with, too, because most things have already been done. I don't think it was as hard in that way for my parents.
"In 20 years I'll be 36. I'll probably have got myself a wife, but not kids yet. If everything pans out I'll be touring the world and living a rock-star life. I want to be bloody famous and successful. I don't want to care about anyone else. I'll be backstabbing if I have to."
Hannah Michaels, 16
Father: owns a property company
Mother: solicitor
Parents' quality of life rating: 7/10
"My father has succeeded work-wise. But I don't think money has made him happy. He's just earning it for the sake of it. Pointless. He's just going to die. And life is not like a competition, whoever has the most money wins ...
"My mum's life has definitely been worth living - because of having a child. My generation are less motivated than our parent's. Women in their generation did have jobs but had to struggle to get them, and they wanted more power. We don't have to fight so hard."
Leah Walker, 16
Father: owns a catering company
Mother: housewife
Parents' quality of life rating: 7/10
"Now my parents are in their 40s they are doing everything in a rush. My mum only learned to ride a bike at 40, then went around Thailand on it. She wishes she had done more in life. She left school at 16, went into an office straight away, and ended up being a housewife.
"My dad is a multi-talented guy. His job has ups and downs but he's basically happy. He never raises his voice. And when he does it's really, oooh! Whether they've had bad times or good times, they've enjoyed their lives loads. My mum recently recovered from cancer and appreciates that she's still here.
"The main thing I want is to have a family I love and care for and who care back. That's all really."
Otis Ingrams, 16
Father: self-employed graphic designer
Mother: journalist
Parents' quality of life rating: 9/10
"My parents split up. Obviously, it's not that nice. But then again, I've had a much richer life for it. My dad was a city person but then he moved to the country and became a bumpkin. My mum stayed in the city. I have a really good mix of country and city life.
"If I left school now, at 16, like my dad did, I'd like to think I could make it like he has. But it would be harder. There are a lot more people with qualifications these days, trying to get the same things as you are."
A cosy living room in Totnes, Devon
Alice Watson, 15
Father: set up an organic box scheme
Mother: part-time university lecturer
Parents' quality of life rating: 8/10
"They may not be famous or powerful, but they are happy. And they have everything they need. I'd be happy with a life like theirs, though I wouldn't want a job like theirs. I don't want to be a farmer."
Isla Mitchell, 16
Father: freelance writer
Mother: died recently. Made baskets, clothes and curtains
Parent's quality of life rating: 6/10
"Dad enjoys what he does so it's right for him. He gets to work at home, which he likes, and it's not badly paid. But what really makes his life worth it is that he's done a lot of things that were fun. He even worked in the circus at one point.
"My mum used to make clown suits. Everybody loved them. She was happy with what she'd done with her life."
Isobel Mercer, 15
Father: consultant for the charity sector
Mother: student counsellor
Parents' quality of life rating: 9/10
"They've done well. Mum hasn't been stuck in the same job all her life. Dad set up his own company. That's a lot to have achieved. Both have long days. But it's worth it because they enjoy it. I do want to have more money, though. I'd like to be an international lawyer."
Zaro Stevenson, 16
Father: former tree surgeon, blacksmith and stonemason
Mother: former intensive care nurse
Stepfather: salesman and developer
Parents' quality of life rating: 8/10
"My dad and mum hung around with hippies. They drove me around in a camper van when I was small, but that was what you did then. They were following the crowd. All her life my mum just did what people do to fit in.
"I don't want to be like them in any way. I don't want kids. I don't want to live in a 1930s semi in Totnes. I want to do something else. Something different. We're all unique. But I feel I'm the only one who wants to be unique. I could go and work in a forest doing some random things. Their lives are easier because they had a clear goal: to end up in a financially comfortable situation with this many kids and that much money. My goal is just to have new experiences."
· The Brixton teenagers were from LIVE magazine, a free publication written and produced entirely by local under-21s. The private school was Latymer.