UNDERSTANDING TEEN-AGERS

A guide to parent-child relationships by the author of Your Dating Days (p.314, 1954), which was a book geared specifically to the upper teens, covers the welter of confronting problems and from it manages to point up predominantly good advice baffled parents would do well to follow. Topics included in the discussions range from an over-all definition of adolescence as one of the most crucial periods of life and on- to moral, marital and economic security. With practice and belief at greater odds during the teens than any other age, the orientation here is specifically intended to help parents understand and realize the conflicts their children may be undergoing, to see the world as they do and hence to act with a greater efficacy for their security and solid development. To a great extent, Mr. Landis succeeds in this area. He cites case histories and in his upholding of the principles of a rational morality, healthy sex education, individuality, selffulfillment rather than economic gain, a girl's right to a career and so forth-leaves little room for quibbling. Where the book falls short is in its stress on education. While he does everything to present the advantages of college, he cites- we think invalidly- cases where college has been emotionally unprofitable, and loses in his leniency the chance to examine some of the more ultimate social and personal values. Adequate.