Global Functions?

Hello, all.

I have two SWF’s. One of them is a container SWF, that has a loading screen and a few other functions - it loads the other “child” SWF into it, and then displays its loading screen.

I have found that the child SWF can access the parent’s functions using _root.functionName - however, I would like to make it so that the child can access the parent’s functions without having to specify _root.

Is there a way to make the parent SWF’s functions ‘global’, so that any SWF’s loaded into it can access its functions?

Thanks,
Girasquid