The term “helicopter（直升机） parents” is a description of parents who are hovering(盘旋) over their children in a state of extreme concern. They always show up to solve their children’s problems, protect them from real or imagined harm, resolve stressful situations, offer advice and get them out of trouble, even if they behave wrongly. Although out of love and concern, it can have harmful effects on their children’s emotional development and future independence.
Children learn through their mistakes. But if you intervene(干涉，介入) at first sign of struggle and finish your child’s homework, he’ll miss out on valuable learning opportunities.
You’re sending him the message that he needs to be perfect and failure is not an option; otherwise you wouldn’t always take over from him.
By constantly rescuing your child from stressful situations, you’re sending him a message that you don’t believe he’s able to take care of himself. Children develop self-esteem(自尊) by learning how to complete challenges on their own. If you are always intervening, he will miss this vital stage in his growth. As a result, your child may lack the confidence necessary to do well in school, pursuing hobbies and interests, and developing friendships.
If you’re always taking care of everything for your child, it’ll be more difficult for him to become independent. As an adult, he might find it hard to take care of himself, because he has never developed coping skills to deal with life’s challenges. He might suffer from irrational(不理智的) fears, anxiety and depression, which could lead him to drop out of college or frequently change jobs, according to Dr Michele Borba. Instead of developing healthy relationships, he might seek a partner who will take care of or control him, as his parents did.
You can help your child become more independent by allowing him to complete tasks and challenges on his own without your intervention. Even if he fails at first, don’t interfere(干涉，干预) — encourage him to start again. Show that you have faith in his abilities to succeed without your help. Allow him to learn natural consequences（后果）. Even small things can help him become more independent— making his own bed, preparing his own lunch, shopping for his own clothes and doing homework without your help.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Nowadays, most citizens especially those who live in the metropolis(大都市), have to face the traffic jam everyday, which has become one of the major problems in the city.
There are many reasons for traffic jams. At first, because of the fact that the vehicles keep giving off harmful gases during traffic jams, the earth is becoming warmer and warmer. In addition, there is no doubt that traffic jams will affect the effectiveness of work because people have to spend much more time on the way to offices than necessary, and their work will be delayed. Apart from this, traffic jams might give rise to more traffic accident, which becomes a great danger to people's life.
Traffic jams are the result of the cars. Why? Personally I think the first reason may be the remoteness(遥远) of people's workplaces. As a result, people have to choose a tool rather than walking to work. Being flexible and relatively convenient, private cars become very attractive choices. What’s more, owning a private car, especially in some developing countries, is a symbol of wealth and high social positions. In some developed countries it is also the symbol of independence and maturity( 成 熟 ). Anyway, owning and driving private cars are regarded by many people as basic human rights.
Undoubtedly, traffic jams must be dealt with properly. In my view, spending more money on public transportation systems may be an effective means. Needless to say, policies which encourage people to put these systems to full use, for example, giving certain subsidies( 补 贴 ), are necessary. In the meantime, measures to restrict(限制) the use of private cars, such as improving the taxes on cars or petrol should be taken.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education mainly focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory (感官的), communicational and social development. Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for kindergarten.
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education. Studies have shown that orphans (孤儿) who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed, causing failure in school, and even in life. Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to prison.
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early. Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child, the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work.” I have personally seen many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become discouraged and bored with school before they finished high school. Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better he or she is, so they push to start children earlier.
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years. It seems that environment is a bigger factor (因素) on life’s success than early education. Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap (差距) in poor and middle school children. Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A 15yearold boy planned to put a ball covered with petrol into his mouth and set it on fire. He would film the dangerous action and put it on YouTube. And, he hoped to become famous on the Internet. But things didn't go the way he imagined. His clothing caught fire, and he was rushed to the hospital with serious burns on his body.
YouTube hosts millions of videos of people attempting dangerous actions. Many of them are by kids and young adults. Some experts say that by hosting these videos, YouTube encourages young viewers to take deadly risks. Research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than 180，000 Americans die from accidental injuries each year. That's one person every three minutes. More than 14，000 of those killed are kids under the age of 19. Is YouTube to blame?
People have always found it interesting to watch others try risky things. Audiences are mad about these kinds of things. Some of the earliest Greek comedies had characters followed by wild animals and knocking into walls. Now, in the age of the Internet, anyone with a camera and a YouTube account can create this kind of “fun”. Many viewers, especially teenagers, are influenced by what they see and want to try it themselves. “YouTube has taken the playing in the neighborhood to a worldwide level，” says Clair Mellenthin, a researcher from the Centers.
Supporters of YouTube argue that it isn't YouTube's responsibility to examine its content. “Parents should be the ones to make sure that kids are behaving safely，” they say. In fact, YouTube has a rule on content. For example, dangerous activities that have a risk of serious physical harm or death are not allowed. Staff of YouTube, carefully watch the website 24 hours a day, looking for videos that are against their rules. But is this enough?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
