My children are now past the age when they might need Fake IDs to get served in bars. I wrote about their first experiences of buying alcoholic drinks in this piece last month. Two years ago, when he turned 18, my son bought me a pint of London Pride on his birthday. In October my daughter bought me a pint of bitter shortly after she turned 18. Neither of my children is partial to alcohol. Unlike some of their contemporaries they never needed Fake IDs to improve their social lives.

Two years ago, catching up with the parents of someone my son was at primary school with, we discussed the subject. Their daughter, still 17 at the time, had acquired one, and used it regularly. Some of my daughter’s friends, who are still 17, also have Fake IDs.

There has been one significant change in my daughter’s life since she turned 18. She applied for, and has been issued with, a library card from a nearby university. She was ineligible for one until her most recent birthday. Over the last week she has been there most days. She built up a streak of five successive days studying in a library mainly used by university students. The streak only came to an end when she stayed after school to use the library there instead.

Last weekend she met up with one of her old schoolfriends who had moved to a different school for sixth form. They have remained close friends in the 18 months since they did their GCSEs. Her friend is still 17 but had still managed to get university library card. We have been joking about how she managed it. Did she get a Fake ID to get around the rules? Unlike the friends that I hung out with when I was her age, my daughter’s friends do not hang out in pubs or drink alcohol. But they might still need Fake IDs. How else are you going to get a university library card?