【推荐2】Technoference (科技入侵) is defined as everyday interruptions (打扰) in face-to-face interactions because of technological devices. Studies showed that parents use devices for nine hours per day on average. Smartphones are often used during family activities such as meals, playtime, and bedtime—all important times involved in shaping a child’s emotional well-being. When parents are on their devices, they have fewer conversations with their children, and pay less attention to them.

In one study, 172 two-parent families with a child aged 5 years or younger answered online questionnaires about family relationships. Participants showed how often different devices interrupted their activities with their children.

They rated their child’s behavior, such a show often they got upset or how easily their feelings were hurt. The parents also reported their own levels of stress and depression (沮丧), the support they received from their partners, and their children’s screen media use.

In almost all cases, devices were part of parent-child interactions during the day. Technology may serve as a way for parents to deal with difficult child behavior. However, it has its drawbacks.

Electronic device use means parents can’t provide meaningful emotional support and positive feedback to their children, which causes behavior such as crying. But this adds to parents’ stress levels. Parents are likely to spend more time with their technological products, and the cycle continues.

“These results showed that relationships between parent technoference and child behavior influence each other over time,” said McDaniel. “Parents who have children with behavioral problems become more stressed, which may lead to them using technology more, which in turn may contribute to more problems with their children.”

So, it seems like the best solution to a difficult relationship between a parent and their child would be to simply spend more time with each other, and less time on their smartphones or computers.

【推荐1】When you bite into a loaf of bread, you’re eating a little slice of history, with roots that stretch back for millennia. But this basic and important food, which has dominated tables for thousands of years, is in a dangerous decline.

According to a study, 32 percent of the purchased bread is being dumped in the UK. And in France-a country whose breads are internationally well-known-young people are cutting 30 percent less than a decade ago.

Traditionally, bread has been a cornerstone of many cultures around the world. Wherever wheat was grown, bread was sure to follow. Its roles were just as varied as its origins. Bread could be used as an appetizer, a palate(味蕾)cleaner, a post-meal palate cleaner-even as an entire meal itself. As its popularity grew, so too did its symbolic value, Christianity adopted bread as are presentation of Christ during religious ceremonies. “Breaking bread” with someone became a common symbol of friendship. The French even used to bring baguettes(法棍面包)home as a symbol of love to the family.

But recently, the world’s love with bread came to fade. Some guess that the fast pace of modern life is changing people’s eating habits. Others believe it’s a reflection of health concerns. Bread is rich in complex carbobydrates(碳水化合物), a fact that could alienate anyone who practices a low-carbon or gluten-free(不含麸质物的)lifestyle.

The shift against bread is also associated with its mass production. Extra yeast(酵母)and additives are added to the dough, to extend its shelf life. In the process, bread ends up being blanched(变白)and nutritious stripped.

But dedicated bakers around the world have rushed forward to rescue bread’s good reputation. They say no to mass production-in-favor-of-baking-flavorful loaves the old-fashioned way. British baker Mark Newman is a good example. His loaves take up to 18 hours from start to finish. “In terms of nutrition and eating satisfaction, a handmade loaf of real bread and mass-produced bread are completely different products.” he said. Artisanal bakers hope to build on the popular enthusiasm to grow their industry. With a little luck-and some fresh, whole grains-bread might return to its traditional glory.

【推荐2】Still dressed in their sleepwear, Dian Turner’s kids couldn‘’t wait to get outside. But they didn’t go far — they stopped at the footpath outside their Melbourne home, armed with a box of chalks.

Max, seven, and Lenny, four, have been away from their friends since coronavirus physical-distancing rules came into force and the Victorian school holidays were brought forwards a week. They’re just two of the many children who have been spending their shutdown time drawing rainbows (彩虹) and encouraging messages like “We’re all in this together” across Australia. “It was something for the kids to make them feel connected to other people, because obviously they’re feeling a little bit uncertain about staying at home and what this means, and not being able to go to the playground and the park,” Ms Turner said.

Ms Turner first saw the idea when she was added to a Facebook group called the Rainbow Trail, which documents children and their parents drawing rainbows for others to spot. Ms Turner, a lawyer who has been spending much of her time working from home amid the shutdown measures, said it was “something positive to talk about” with the family. “You’re not breaking any of the social-distancing rules but it’s something that you can do and you can be happy and show that there’s a connection.”

University of Melbourne public health researcher Lisa Gibbs said it was important to provide children with age-appropriate ways to make them feel active and capable during the pandemic. “It’s easy in times of danger, which essentially this is, to be so concerned with protecting children, which obviously is of great importance,” Professor Gibbs said. “But in protecting children we can sometimes treat them as vulnerable (脆弱的), which makes them feel useless. So these sorts of activities are really helpful in providing a sense of agency in children that they can make a contribution to others.”

Professor Gibbs said in times of disaster, two patterns were very common — community mobilization, where people banded together, and community deterioration (恶化), where social supports fell apart. “So what these activities from children are doing is really contributing to social mobilization,” she said. “And people respond really positively to children’s messages, because they spread joy.”

【推荐3】“Girls are weak, and boys are strong. This is what is being subconsciously communicated to hundreds of millions of young boys and girls all over the world, just like it was with me,” said American actor Justin Baldoni. As a boy, all he wanted was to be accepted by other people. That acceptance meant he had to pretend to be strong when he was weak, confident when he felt insecure, and tough when he was actually hurting.

Is that a healthy lifestyle? A member of the CPPCC Standing Committee might say “yes”. In his proposal, he spoke of a need to “prevent the feminization of male youths”. In response to his call, China’s Ministry of Education has recently demanded that schools should hire more physical education teachers and improve teaching methods to cultivate masculinity in students.

The response has been widely debated online, with many people saying that it reinforces gender stereotypes. The state broadcaster CCTV wrote on its Weibo account, “Education is not simply about cultivating men and women. It’s more important to develop a willingness to take responsibility.” You might be wondering now: What is masculinity, and why is this so controversial?

Well, by itself, “masculinity” refers to the qualities traditionally considered to be typical of men. While there is not really a single “correct” set of qualities, the term is often associated with strength, courage, assertiveness, and emotional control. Sometimes, however, these seemingly admirable qualities can be extended in unrealistic ways. But boys are also human. Blindly asking them to control their feelings “like a man” can only increase their stress when they grow up.

As an educator who has spent years teaching in China, I agree that attaching more importance to physical education would definitely benefit students. Sports provide opportunities for physical fitness. More importantly, they can help develop lifelong skills, such as leadership and communication skills. However, putting the emphasis on masculinity is far from a sound reason for which to do so.

It is unnecessary for all boys to build up their muscles, but it is essential that they all learn how to be strong inside. It is also fine for boys to cry and to show their weakness. Schools should work on equipping students with the skills and values they will need to be successful in life, not reinforcing stereotypes of masculinity borrowed from a bygone age.

【推荐1】A new app called curbi is providing parents with strong control over their children’s online activity, any time, anywhere!

Any parent of a child who has access to technology, which covers any kid old enough to point a finger, fights endless battles around proper usage, time spent and time wasted on personal devices.

Developed by a team in Western Australia, once set up, it links parents to all devices used by their kids—iPhones, iPads and iPods—so that they can direct, block or monitor their Internet time in detail.

With the touch of a button, you can put your kid’s tablet into 10 minutes of ‘Time Out’ (that’s zero Internet access), or block his or her access to social media and time-wasting apps to keep her focused during study.

The beauty of the app is that parents can set the rules (eg a ‘bedtime’ mode that allows no social media or video apps like YouTube) and apply them any time, anywhere – whether children are on the home network, or using free wifi or mobile data. It can even disable the device’s camera, photo stream and block in-app purchases, screenshots and app installations. Curbi’s most obvious application is for keeping kids safe, allowing parents to block content such as adult, TV and video sites.

The monitoring aspect allows parents to check what each of their techno children is up to on their device, at a glance—a detailed report of how many minutes are spent on each site or app can even be emailed.