Does Your Child's World Scare You: Making the World a Better Place for Children

Scott, a minister at University Baptist Church in Carbondale, Ill., explores the ways in which a child's world can be a place of relative safety and security even in the midst of a society marked by the violence of crime and the insecurity caused by family disintegration. Scott compiles an abundance of statistics (e.g., one out of every two marriages ends in divorce) to demonstrate what he perceives as the scary nature of our children's world. The author ably acquaints readers with social issues like violence, economic instability and health care and the sometimes adverse effects these issues have on family life. Not all doom and gloom, Scott provides chapter-by-chapter suggestions for hands-on projects parents and children can do together. For example, to combat school violence, Scott suggests that parents volunteer time in the classrooms, sponsor guest speakers, and offer courses in conflict resolution and consensus building. The book contains an appendix of resource organizations that can help parents deal with their children's world. While the abundance of data Scott marshals is at times overwhelming and often makes for tedious reading, his book constitutes a wake-up call for parents concerned that their children's world is not safe or secure. (May)