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Talking with Your Children About a Troubled World.

Lynne S. Dumas. New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
: Ballantine Books, 1992. 335 pp. $18.00. A child's world is a most dangerous place. Childhood today is far more complex and contains more potential for mishap than it did for many of us. As new issues emerge with alarming frequency, the myriad dangers that children face in contemporary society surpass those of recent social history.

Correspondingly, parents face a host of new and baffling baf·fle  
tr.v. baf·fled, baf·fling, baf·fles
1. To frustrate or check (a person) as by confusing or perplexing; stymie.

2. To impede the force or movement of.

n.
1.
 issues that impinge upon effective caregiving and preparation of their children for the adult world. Issues relating to relating to relate prepconcernant

relating to relate prepbezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc 
 AIDS, homelessness, environmental pollution and world violence extend far beyond the difficulties experienced by our parents or our grandparents grandparents nplabuelos mpl

grandparents grand nplgrands-parents mpl

grandparents grand npl
. Certainly, the need to help children understand and cope with the complexities of their world has become a monumental task confronting effective parenting.

Using an issue-oriented approach, Dumas examines child-rearing in a complex society coping with The Coping With series of books is a series of books aimed at 11-16 year olds, written by Peter Corey and published by Scholastic Hippo. The first book, Coping with Parents, was released in 1989, and the series continued until the last book, Coping with Cash  drugs, job loss, divorce and other problems. She focuses upon each issue, discussing techniques that enable parents to address these assorted issues with their children. In many cases, questions and answers likely to be generated in parent-child exchanges are included. Each chapter also offers valuable additional resources and readings for parents and children.

While the content takes the form of a "how to" book, the quality of the writing and the sensitivity of the author surpass the average book of this genre. To illustrate, the chapter on racism and prejudice offers the reader some background information on the formation of racial attitudes, anecdotes of the author's teaching experience with race and a "script" for adults to follow in addressing this important issue.

Unfortunately, the author assumes that deeply experienced emotional issues such as race and prejudice (among adults) can be easily addressed through logical arguments and that adults can escape their own prejudices in addressing emotionally charged issues such as race. She further assumes that a literature-inspired, isolated approach to complex issues can be effective and that communicating with children can follow a step-by-step process. A significant level of adult skill and sophistication so·phis·ti·cate  
v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates

v.tr.
1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly.

2.
 would be required to employ this scheme effectively. Among trained or educated professionals, such as teachers, this book has value. Reviewed by Stewart Cohen cohen
 or kohen

(Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male.
, Professor of Human Development, Counseling and Family Studies, University of Rhode Island History
The University was first chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The site of the school was originally the Oliver Watson Farm, and the original farmhouse still lies on the campus today.
, Kingston
COPYRIGHT 1993 Association for Childhood Education International
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1993, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Article Details
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Author:Cohen, Stewart
Publication:Childhood Education
Article Type:Book Review
Date:Jan 1, 1993
Words:373
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