Children Who See Too Much: Lessons from the Child Witness to Violence Project
The need for a book to help parents and caregivers whose children have seen violence has never been more apparent than in the days following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. While Boston Medical Center's 10-year-old Child Witness to Violence Project is specifically designed to do just that, this book by the project's founder, a licensed social worker, disappoints. The project, which works with young children who have witnessed evil firsthand (e.g., a parent's murder) or who are traumatized by news stories (such as the kidnapping of Polly Klass from her home), clearly has done much good in helping children cope. When Groves focuses on specific stories, like four-year-old Daquan, who was at home when his mother was murdered, or Jenna and Ben, who were present when their father attacked their mother, the book comes alive. But too often Groves strays from her subject and offers mini-primers on child development theories or television violence that are not nearly as insightful as her work with kids. Despite a tendency to oversummarize in order to pad out this slim and somewhat uncohesive volume, Groves does make an impassioned case that youth is not a protection against violence and that domestic violence in particular has the most devastating effect on children. She warns that there are no quick fixes to help young children. What matters most is "the adult behind the strategy who says, `I will listen to you' or `I believe you can succeed.' "Her six-step plan for changing the world includes such commonsense notions as offering children steady, loving relationships and reintroducing civility into daily life. (Feb. Forecast: At press time, Beacon did not have plans to accelerate this book's publication schedule, so while many parents and educators could benefit from Groves's advice right now, they may have to wait until February. But by then, the shelves will probably be packed with related titles, thus stunting this one's potential.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.