Straight Answers To Tough Questions Parents Face; Teenagers & Tough Decisions

We're always on the lookout for good parenting and youth guidance tapes (which seem to be few and far between) and we've found a gem in the latter category. But first the parenting series: Straight Answers to Tough Questions Parents Face. Offered as a 3-title series, the programs are subtitled "Children: Ages 1-5," "Pre-Teens: Ages 6-12," and "Teens: Ages 13-18." Developed by Taylor R. Taylor, each tape features half a dozen "experts" answering questions such as "What do I do if I catch my child lying or stealing?" The "experts" are drawn from a wide variety of professional quarters: a minister, a chaplain, a psychiatrist, a teacher, a counselor, a representative from the U.S. Dept. of Education, etc. Since some of the same people appear on more than one tape, the dividing lines between the various age groups represented are not always so clear, and some of the subject matter overlaps (topics include: ages 1-5--self-esteem, making friends, discipline, sharing, setting limits, divorce, death, violence on television, and sexual curiosity; ages 6-12--discipline, latch-key kids, changing poor peer influence, lying and stealing, masturbation, and divorce; ages 13-18--parental popularity, drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, and pre-marital sex). What is abundantly clear, however, is that a couple of these people have decidedly questionable notions about raising children. On the 1-5 age group tape, Dominique Mamula, a teacher at the MeadowBrook School allows that sometimes "a squirt of liquid soap in the mouth" may be necessary for disobedient children. This is not a terribly smart idea. On the 6-12 age group tape, Dr. Charles Darwin, a minister and family counselor, gets a little carried away on the subject of bad authority figures, saying that copying bad behavior leads to "sin" which could lead to "disease and death." And on the 13-18 age group tape, Dr. Darwin again imparts a singular jewel: namely, that "peer pressure never caused a child to start thinking about drugs and alcohol." There's also the remarkable assertion that role models are changing, and kids today look up to "JFK and Martin Luther King" as their heroes. Granted that the programs do have a bit of a religious bent, there are some very sound ideas and thoughtful discussions running through these three programs. Had the producers been able to recognize some of the truly unacceptable comments, and edited them out, this series would have been a reasonably good one for traditional Christian families. Teenagers & Tough Decisions, on the other hand, is an excellent program, aimed at teens who are trying to cope with the multitude of pressures brought on by adolescence. Developed by a team of journalists, educators, parents, counselors, and medical experts, under the guidance of Robb E. Dalton, best-selling author of Life-Planning (also an Emmy award winning television series), Teenagers & Tough Decisions uses interviews, dramatic vignettes, and the popular quiz teaser to address the subjects of peer pressure, safe sex, teenage pregnancy, money, work, families and divorce, stress, drugs and alcohol, and goals. Hip editing and a pop music soundtrack make the production easily palatable for teens, while at the same time warning them against the false allures of slick music-laden advertising. Kids learn the harsh realities (1 million babies born to teen mothers a year; nearly 70% of teen marriages end in divorce; the number one killer of teens is drunk driving, etc.) and are encouraged to think about the consequences and possible alternatives. In one of the funniest segments, a pair of teenage guys decide to cut some classes in order to work part-time and get their own apartment. Over the course of a week they quickly discover that what they thought was a grand sum of coin doesn't go very far for rent (plus deposit), utilities, and groceries. An excellent program. Straight Answers For Tough Questions Parents Face has too many bono remarks and is not recommended. Teenagers & Tough Decisions is highly recommended and an Editor's Choice. (Straight Answers to Tough Questions Parents Face is available from: Moonbeam Publications, 18530 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe, MI 48236; 1-800-445-2391.) (For availability of Teenagers & Tough Decisions see LICENSE TO SKATE: IN-LINE.)