Adult-Child Dialogue Key to Prevention.

• Position: Brief Article

Communication and dialogue, long recognized as ways to air grievances, resolve problems, and sustain relationships, often are neglected until the situation seems overwhelming, argues Jennifer Obidah, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. An education professor who studies the effects of violence on learning, she offers the following advice to adults on improving the dialogue and connecting with young people:

* Let kids know you are there for them. "Children will tell you in a heartbeat that adults don't understand the situations they are facing today. It goes beyond their need to separate themselves from authority figures. They want someone to understand and care, and sometimes friendships among their peers are not enough."

* Don't assume you know what is going on with children without talking to them. "The world that young people live in today we have no clue about. To be able to build a bomb from information accessed on the Internet--we don't know anything about that at all, but we need to find out."

* Adults need to talk, too. Parents and teachers unwittingly ignore youths' feelings of alienation by not connecting as adults to address issues young people face. "In the urban setting, most teachers assume parents don't have a lot to give, so parents are used to going to the schools only...