LAST year my nephews went to Burma.

Nothing unusual about that except that they are 15 years old and Burma is run by a military regime.

At 15, I was tucked away, nice and safe with the Mercy sisters, in boarding school. Going to the beach two hours away was really big, like crossing the ocean to a new world.

In the mid 1970s, few of my fellow 15 year olds travelled much further.

Now it almost seems as if overseas travel is the essential Year 9 or 10 experience. Then there's Jessica Watson, the young Queenslander who's halfway around the globe, alone on a yacht in her bid to claim the world record for being the youngest to conquer that feat alone. She's 16.

I read recently about the case of the kid who's been money laundering online since the age of 14 by scamming fake sales on eBay.

His mother apparently tried to get the banks to ban him from opening accounts but they did not.

Slowly I am beginning to understand that a new generation is heading out into the world, at a much younger age, fearless and full of confidence, to do the things they really love.

Over the weekend I met a few who had flown from Tasmania to central Victoria to play in a music festival.

Stuart Foley, 13, has been playing in a band since he was nine years old. He plays mandolin and guitar. His fellow band member and sister, Hannah, 17, has been busking fiddle since she was six. Both enjoyed private music lessons.

Their cousin, Chris Boon, and a friend, Moire Meaney Gallagher, both 17, also play in the band which has played together about for 3 1/2 years.

Next year they're planning a "world tour" and will play gigs in Ireland, England and wherever else they can get them.

Moire, who has been living away from home since she was 15, but who is deeply connected with her family through music, says each generation is getting older at a younger age. By that she means they have responsibilities and tackle things earlier in life.

Moire plays the whistle, bass and an Irish drum called the bodhrain.

She also plays in another band with her grandparents and her aunt and three cousins. The cousins are about 11 years old.

At nine days old, she was taken to the pub and introduced to her musical clan and that was that. She's been mainlining Irish music since.

Stuart plays mandolin and guitar. So does Chris plus the tin whistle, the bodhrain and piano. I marvelled at their abilities all weekend.

Admittedly they were accompanied by Hannah and Stuart's dad, Hayden, and Chris's mum, Lauren, both in their 40s. Hayden and Lauren are siblings.

I asked Lauren and Hayden if they thought kids got older younger these days.

Hayden: "I certainly didn't have their opportunities and they're making the most of the opportunities given them."

Lauren: "Our parents didn't have as much disposable income. We've been able to pay for the music lessons whereas our Mum and Dad couldn't. There's also the Internet. There's a lot more communication and networking going on."

According to Hannah: "My generation has been given the general impression by the whole of the community that if they try hard enough they can do whatever they want."

Email scams at 14, solo global sailing bids at 16, world music tours at 18. It boggles the mind of this old girl.