SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : Child-abuse special aims to break the silence and wall of self-blame

Things are definitely not better left unsaid: That’s the message of Tuesday’s CBS prime-time special Break the Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse.

Using both animation and live action, including interviews, the show focuses on physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Tales of abuse are told through the voices and stories of four young people, two boys and two girls.

Animation sequences, interwoven throughout the narration, depict the frightening way children view things, without being uncomfortably graphic. For example, as cowering children are seen in line drawings, adult abusers often are shown as large, looming figures. The animation is intercut with a live interview with each child.

“It’s a wonderful tool for parents to show their children how to protect themselves,” says host Jane Seymour (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”), who is also a spokeswoman for Childhelp USA. “The most important thing is that children break the silence by not being ashamed to talk, to know that they aren’t to blame.”

Children often feel most wronged after trying to talk about abuse, Seymour points out. Parents or primary care givers can be in denial, leaving children with no one to share their worst experiences. It’s imperative that kids not only have someone to talk to, but also someone who will listen and believe, she adds.

The show also hopes to teach children who haven’t suffered abuse to become good listeners and advise their lesser-informed peers.

The depictions--and subsequent solutions--are presented in a simple, direct manner so that even very young children can understand. Parents are offered ways to detect behavioral changes that might be signs of something wrong. Options for legal action are explored as well.

“We teach our kids to worry about strangers, but abuse doesn’t really happen with strangers. More often, it happens with people kids know,” Seymour emphasizes. “Parents need to be educated along with their kids.”

“Break the Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse” airs 8-8:30 p.m. Tuesday on CBS. For ages 6 and up.

Another Family Show

A teen-ager, as yet unnamed, is lying in a dark stairwell, shot. Paramedics rush him to a Bronx hospital. The scene resembles an episode of “Rescue 911,” but there’s something different: Reporters covering the story are the victim’s peers. In the Mix teens Melanie Glickson and Kevin Jordan better not be afraid of the sight of blood, because on Sunday they follow the victim from the site of the shooting to the hospital and await results of emergency surgery. They talk to medical personnel, as well as the victim’s friends and family.

Like an MTV-influenced “60 Minutes” for teens, “In the Mix” offers a combination of news and feature stories as well as profiles and segments geared directly for teen-age audiences.

The newsmagazine recently began its second season, with a change in format, going from an hour to half an hour. The “mix” now means shows on single topics and shows with a variety of segments.

“This way we’re able to explore a topic in an in-depth way,” says executive producer Sue Castle, who adds that the shorter-format show is easier for PBS stations to put into their schedule. “We’re also really excited about two upcoming specials. We’re looking into what the topics should be right now.”

This season, the series looks at legal rights; alcoholism, toxicity and drunk driving; teen pregnancy; safety, and AIDS.

Last season, the show covered such topics as violence; teen parents; eating disorders; jobs and interracial dating. It’s also been a showcase for such celebrities as the Spin Doctors, INXS, Christian Slater, Chuck D., Salt ‘N’ Pepa, Kadeem Hardison and Natalie Merchant.

New reporters Andrea Barrow, Tamah Krinsky, Julio Rivera and Logan Campbell join Glickson and Jordan to form a rotating team. All from the New York area, they range in age from 15 to 21.

Keeping up to date on what interests teens plays a vital role for the show. Castle points out that through arranged focus groups, teens get together and talk about what’s important to them helps.

“In the Mix” reflects their interests.