STRAIGHT TALK WITH CHILDREN

Jonathan Zimmerman ["Our Duplicitous Drug Dialogues," op-ed, Feb. 26]
rightly concluded that honest discussion is the best general policy in
discussing mature topics with children. But he failed to adequately address
the dilemma adults face when discussing such topics with children: how to
honestly convey knowledge of a mature subject without being insensitive to
a child's inexperience and developmental need.

Adults naturally hesitate to talk honestly with children because, among
other things, children are susceptible to suggestions without being able to
consider consequences. Children don't have the experience or capacity to
reason as a mature adult. For this reason, parents try to shield their
children from potentially harmful realities until they have matured enough
to form their own opinions.

Mr. Zimmerman concluded that we would allow honest discussion "if we truly
believed in our children's ability to make 'responsible decisions.' " But
it is precisely because children are not capable of making responsible
decisions that doing so would be recklessly irresponsible.

Ariel Mendez, Washington