Guns and knives are becoming a part of growing up for children in our country

Just after August Bank holiday, every parent's thoughts turn to the new school year. Having to fork out another small fortune on clothes; then the battle at the shop to convince the children that the naff trainers (which just happen to be the cheapest) are the best ones . . .

But this year, preparing for the new term feels different. It's not because of the depressingly awful weather, which has made it more difficult to keep the kids entertained. It's been a summer dominated by stories of children affected by casual violence. Shootings, gang warfare in districts throughout cities in the UK where rivals pre-arrange battles for supremacy. And, of course, knife attacks. Indeed, the latter are now so commonplace they barely get a mention.

Three years ago, I made a documentary about knife crime among teenagers in the UK. It was meant to be a report about rising gun crime. But as we researched the issue with A&E units throughout the country, what soon emerged was a huge and largely unreported trend of knife crime among teenagers. A considerable number of the young people carrying, using and becoming victims of knives were not even teenagers, but anything from age eight upwards. Many of those injured or killed were attacked at school.

The day after my documentary was broadcast, knife crime came to my neighbourhood. It became headline news in a way I could never have imagined. A local schoolteacher was fatally stabbed on the doorstep of his house in a street close to mine.

Three years ago, knife crime stood out as a bigger issue than guns. Home Office's figures show there was a 6 per cent rise in gun offences between 2004 and 2005 and it has been an upward trend ever since. I feel now about gun crime and young people exactly as I felt about knife crime in 2004; this is a rising trend not being given the consistent attention and thought it deserves.

Many chief police officers say guns are more easily available for less money each year. The fact is young people may not be buying them with the intention of using them.

A huge number of young people carry knives because they feel they have to as a deterrent. It's common for kids to be "jacked" (meaning held-up with a knife) for their iPods or trainers or phones. And don't just think that it happens in rough areas. It happens all the time in comfortable middle-class areas. The children of two close friends, nationally known newsreaders, have been "jacked" at a local school popular with middle-class families.

Fear forces young people to carry a knife in the belief they will be protected from attack. They think that if they carry knives and are threatened, all they will have to do is show their knife for the attacker to back off.

The reality is completely different. Carrying a knife only increases the chances of being attacked. But it doesn't feel that way to a teenager. Many I interviewed seemed to have been quite unrealistic about carrying knives and guns, believing everything would turn out as it does in films and music videos. Guns and knives were carried for protection and respect, if you have to use one, well it's just a jab in the thigh, it doesn't go very deep, it's not very serious. Almost all stopped carrying knives when one of their friends was killed or seriously wounded. They spoke of how naive they had been about the injuries that a small blade could cause.

The same naivety is now at play with guns. They are carried or kept for similar reasons and there is the same belief that using a gun will be just as it appears on television or music videos; cartoon-like violence where you can duck behind a car door during a drive-by like Snoop Doggy Dogg or 50 Cent.

Guns and knives are becoming a part of growing up for children in our country. They are already a reality for school heads and teachers. And they are an issue for many parents, even well-off middle-class parents.

Front pages this summer were dominated by stories of children affected by violence. But, as a new school year starts, all of us - parents, teachers, children and police - should not only ask why things are getting worse but also when this will become a national issue for long-term serious debate and political discussion.

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