VOA慢速英语:What Parents Can Do to Help Prevent Dating Abuse

Today we take another look at teaching young people how to build healthy relationships. Last week we told you about a new study in the United States. Fifteen percent of seventh graders in that study said they had experienced physical violence in a relationship with the opposite sex. Seventh graders are about twelve years old.
今天，我们再来看一看教育青少年如何建立健康的恋爱关系。上周，我们告诉了你关于美国最新的一项研究。15%被调查的七年级学生表示，他们曾经在异性关系中经历过身体暴力。七年级学生约12岁。

Concerns about dating abuse at such a young age are leading to new programs to teach eleven- to fourteen-year-olds about healthy relationships. The northwestern state of Idaho has had a program for the last few years called Start Strong Idaho. Director Kelly Miller says healthy relationships depend on open, honest communication -- and that starts with communication between children and parents.
对这个年龄恋爱暴力的担忧，致使产生了一个教育11岁到14岁青少年健康关系的新项目。位于美国西北部爱达荷州最近几年有了一个名为Start Strong Idaho的项目。负责人Kelly Miller称，健康关系取决于公开，诚实的沟通，而这一点从孩子与家长间的沟通开始。

KELLY MILLER: "We need to connect with parents so parents understand that they are critical in terms of helping young people understand healthy relationships."
KELLY MILLER：“我们需要联系家长，让他们明白，他们是帮助青少年理解健康关系的关键。”

Ms. Miller advises parents to talk with their children anytime they can. Parent-child communication may not always prevent an abusive relationship between teenagers or preteens. But experts say it can reduce the risk. Seventy-five percent of students in the study said they talk to their parents about the issue of dating violence.
Miller女士建议家长随时与孩子交谈。亲子沟通并不总能防止青少年之间的暴力关系。但专家称，它可以减少风险。75%受调查的学生称，他们与父母谈谈论了约会暴力问题。

A good time to have a conversation about a difficult issue is during a family meal or after watching a movie or television show together. Kelly Miller says young people need rules and boundaries. They also need the skills to be able to resist pressure to be on the phone all the time or to text when they should be sleeping.
谈论棘手问题的一个好时机是家庭用餐或一起看电影电视节目时。Kelly Miller说青少年需要规则和界限。他们还需要一种技能，在自己应该睡觉时，顶住一直打电话或发短信的压力。

The Start Strong Idaho website offers some advice. For instance, watch out for these signs that a phone could be part of an abusive relationship: Feeling like you have to answer text messages or calls right away. Feeling like the texts you receive have gone from caring to controlling. Being pressured to constantly be on your phone, even when you are with friends. And being pressured to send sexual texts or pictures.
Start Strong Idaho网站提供了一些意见。例如，留神一通电话可能是暴力恋爱关系一部分的这些信号：感觉你必须马上回短信或电话。感觉你收到的短信从关心转到了控制。被迫要一直在电话上，即使你和朋友在一起的时候。以及被迫发送性方面的文本和图片。

Kelly Miller also tells young people not to write anything on Facebook that they would not want their parents or other family members to see. And she reminds them that there is no need to accept friend requests from strangers -- or to give your phone number to someone you don't know.
Kelly Miller还告诉年轻人，不要在Facebook上写不希望父母或其他家人看到的东西。她还提醒他们，也没有必要接受来自陌生人的好友请求，或将你的电话告诉自己不认识的人。

Start Strong Idaho holds separate workshops for parents and teens and also brings the two groups together. Kelly Miller says, during these meetings, families often learn things they never knew about each other.
Start Strong Idaho项目拥有为家长和青少年服务的独立研讨会，并将他们带到一起。Kelly Miller称，在这些会议期间，家庭成员经常了解到他们彼此之间不知道的事情。

KELLY MILLER: "One mom came up and said 'I'm so thankful there was this workshop tonight because I found out my son not only was dating but currently has two girlfriends at the same time and didn’t understand the problem with that.'"
KELLY MILLER：“一位母亲走过来说，‘我非常感谢今晚这次研讨会，因为我发现我儿子不仅在恋爱，目前而且同时有两个女朋友，并且没有意识到这样存在的问题。'”