(JACKSON OPEN):
African American parents now have an important new resource to help them support their children in times of stress or crisis. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Black Child Development Institute have developed an Activity Book for African American Families: Helping Children Cope with Crisis. Dr. Yvonne Maddox, deputy director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, describes the book.

(MADDOX):
"It's an interactive book that deals with various subjects. We deal with how to encourage one's child to look forward to a good and bright future. We work to encourage our families and parents to listen to the child. We work to have the family members comfort the child. To help the child feel safe, because as you know after 911 there was this real feeling of fear. We also wanted to help the family to think about how does one adjust or respond in emergency situations, because there are other emergencies that happen that put children at risk and have them stressful. And then the other area that we wanted to be sure to put on the table is that the family's faith and the family's traditions and the family's assessment of religious traditions was important for the child to know."

(JACKSON CLOSE):
The Activity Book for African American Families was developed by the African American Parent's Project, a collaboration between families, professional organizations, and leaders of national African American organizations. The book is free and can be ordered through the NICHD Web site at: http://www.nichd.nih.gov or by calling the NICHD Information Resource Center at 1-800-370-2943. This is Calvin Jackson, the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.