首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The Only Child: Revealing the Myths Those without siblings hear these stereotypes all the time: That they are spoiled, disag
The Only Child: Revealing the Myths Those without siblings hear these stereotypes all the time: That they are spoiled, disag
admin
2012-07-11
57
问题
The Only Child: Revealing the Myths
Those without siblings hear these stereotypes all the time: That they are spoiled, disagreeable, and can’t function because their parents do everything for them. Wonder what onlies Steve Jobs, Betty White and Shaquille O’Neal would say about that? Today, 20 percent of children under 18 are onlies, according to the U. S. Census. And, due to varied reasons including delays in marriage and having children, families with one child now outnumber those with two children, says social psychologist Susan Newman.
It’s a conversation I have most weeks—if not most days. This time.it happens when my 2-year-old daughter and I are buying milk at the supermarket. The cashiers fawn over her pink cheeks, and then I endure the usual dialogue:
"Your first?"
"Yup. "
"Another one coming soon?"
"Nope—it might be just this one. "
"You’ll have more. You’ll see. "
I offer no retort,but if I did,I’d start by asking these young minimum-wage earners to consider the following:The U. S. Department of Agriculture reports that the average child in the U. S. costs his or her parents about $ 286,050—before college. Those costs have risen during the recession. It’s a surprise to me these days if anyone can manage a second kid—forget about a third.
Since I celebrated my 35th birthday, I have to ask myself not when, but if. " The recession has dramatically reshaped women’s childbearing desires,"says Larry Finer,the director of domestic policy at the Guttmacher Institute, a leading reproductive health research organization. The institute found that 64% of women polled said that with the economy the way it is,they couldn’t afford to have a baby now. Forty-four percent said they plan to reduce or delay their childbearing—again,because of the economy. This happens during financial meltdowns:The Great Depression saw single-child families jump at 23% .
Since the early 60s, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, single-child families have almost doubled in number,to about 1 in 5—and that’s from before the markets crashed.
The deep-rooted dislike to stopping at one mainly amounts to a century-old public relations issue. Single children are perceived as spoiled, selfish, solitary discomfort. No parents want that for their kid. Since the 1970s, however, studies devoted to understanding the personality characteristics of only children have debunked that idea. I, for one, was happy without siblings. A few ex-boyfriends aside, people seem to think I turned out just fine. So why do we still worry that there’s something wrong with just one?
The Lonely Only?
The image of the lonely only was the work of one man, Granville Stanley Hall. About 120 years ago, Hall established one of the first American psychology research labs. But what he is most known for tdday is supervising the 1896 study " Of Peculiar and Exceptional Children" , which described a series of only-child oddballs as permanent misfits. For decades, academics and advice columnists alike spreaded his conclusion that an only child could not be expected to go through life with the same capacity for adjustment that children with siblings possessed.
No one has done more to disprove Hall’s stereotype than Toni Falbo, a professor of educational psychology and sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, Falbo began investigating the only-child experience in the 1970s,both in the U. S. and in China,drawing on the experience of tens of thousands of subjects. Twenty-five years ago, she and colleague Denise Polit conducted a meta-analysis of 115 studies of only children from 1925 onward that considered developmental outcomes of adjustment,character, sociability, achievement and intelligence.
Generally,those studies showed that singletons aren’t measurably different from other kids—except that they,along with firstborns and people who have only one sibling,score higher in measures of intelligence and achievement. Of course, part of the reason we assume only children are spoiled is that whatever parents have to give, the only child gets it all. The argument Judith Blake makes in Family Size and Achievement as to why onlies are higher achievers across socioeconomic lines can be stated simply: There’s no " dilution of resources", as she terms it, between siblings. No matter their income or occupation,parents of only children have more time,energy and money to invest in their kid.
But in that case, is there truth to the stereotype that they’re overindulged? In Austin, I seek out psychologist Carl Pickhardt,who tells me, "There’s no question that only children are highly indulged and highly protected. "But that doesn’t mean the stereotype is true,he says. "You’ve been given more attention and nurturing to develop yourself. But that’s not the same thing as being selfish. On balance,that level of parental involvement is a good thing. All that attention is the energy for your self-esteem and achievement. "But,he adds,"everything is double-edged. And everything is formative. "
Will It Make Us Happier?
As parents,we tend to ask ourselves two questions when we talk about having more children. First, will it make our kid happier? And then,will it make us happier? A 2007 survey found that at a rate of 3 to 1,people believe the main purpose of marriage is the "mutual happiness and fulfillment" of adults rather than the " bearing and raising of children". There must be some balance between the joy our kids give us and the sacrifices we make to care for them.
" Most people are saying, I can’t divide myself anymore," says social psychologist Susan Newman. Before technology made the office a 24-hour presence, we actually spent less time actively parenting, she explains. "We no longer send a child out to play for three hours and have those three hours to ourselves, "she says. "Now you take them to the next practice,the next class. We’ve been consumed by our children. But we’re moving back slowly to parents wanting to have a life too. And people are realizing that’s simply easier with one. "
As I enter what my obstetrician (产科医师) calls advanced maternal age,it’s a choice my husband and I need to make soon. How we determine our happiness and our daughter’s will be based on the love we feel for her and the realities—both joyful and trying—of what a larger family would mean.
If we end up having no other children,we’ll have to be mindful to raise her to be part of something bigger than just us three. But must we share DNA to do that? As Newman tells me, " What really changes, as the fewer siblings we have,is how we define family. "I’ve been part of this redefinition all my life, casting cousins and friends as substitute siblings since I was a child. For now, my kid is happy enough to dance down supermarket aisles by herself or with her friends and cousins. And with her, sometimes,I do too.
The psychologist Carl Pickhardt holds the idea that______.
选项
A、the only children are often highly selfish
B、parental involvement should be as less as possible
C、parental attention is helpful for one’s success
D、parents should pay more attention to themselves
答案
C
解析
定位句提及,Carl Pickhardt认为On balance,that level of parental involvement is a good thing,即他认为父母的参与是一件好事,由此可推知,C)与之相符,故为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/3dE7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、Theywerebothbusydoingtheirwork.B、Theywaitedforeachotheratdifferentplaces.C、Theywenttothestreetcorneratdi
Thedesireforachievementsisoneoflife’sgreatmysteries.Socialscientistshavedevotedlifetimestostudyingthedrivesth
A、Theman’svacationhasbeenpostponed.B、Themanmightbecarsick.C、Themanisgoingtochangehismedicine.D、Theman’swife
Autism(儿童自闭症)isaseriousmentalillness,especiallyofchildren,inwhichonebecomesunabletocommunicateorformrelation
A、NewYeargifts.B、Birthdaygifts.C、Christmasgifts.D、Thanksgivinggifts.C对话中,男士建议女士给UncleTeddy送领带,女士说领带是人们能买到的最愚蠢的圣诞礼物。故本题
RecentlyasociologistfromtheUniversityofNewHampshire,MurrayStraus,presentedapapersuggestingthatcorporalpunishmen
A、DrRichardsoniscontentwithMary’sessay.B、DrRichardsonisdisappointedwithMary’sessay.C、Maryhasgreatdifficultiesi
Theprivatecarisassumedtohavewidenedourhorizonsandincreasedourmobility.Whenweconsiderourchildren’smobility,th
Itwouldbeinterestingtodiscoverhowmanyyoungpeoplegotouniversitywithoutanyclearideaofwhattheyaregoingtodoa
Theplannedderegulationhas______concern1;hatPeterwillfacestiffercompetitionandanerosionofits42percentmarketsh
随机试题
血管紧张素Ⅱ受体拮抗剂是含有酸性基团的联苯结构,酸性基团可以是四氮唑环也可以是羧基,在联苯的一端联有咪唑环或可视为咪唑环的开环衍生物。下列血管紧张素Ⅱ受体拮抗剂中,半衰期最长,分布体积最大,不含有四氮唑环结构的药物是()。
委托监理服务合同按双方签署的合同协议书上注明的时间终止;自终止日起自然失效。()
下列各项,《固体废物污染环境防治法》未作禁止规定的是()。
某水利水电工程项目的原施工进度网络计划(双代号)如图1F420151-6所示。该工程总工期为18个月。在上述网络计划中,下作C、F、J三项工作均为土方工程,土方工程量分别为7000m3、10000m3、6000m3,共计23000m3,土方单价为15元/m
个人申请保荐代表人资格,应当通过所任职的保荐机构向中国证监会提交的材料包括()。I.申请报告Ⅱ.证券业从业人员资格考试、保荐代表人胜任能力考试成绩合格的证明Ⅲ.证券业执业证书Ⅳ.工作情况说明
应用心理学的理论和技术,对来访者的心理活动和人格特征讲行评估和鉴定,从而确定其心理变化的程度和性质的过程。这是()
同一份文件,根据它们的不同用途,可分为()。
在二次大战前,有一批作家为避免侦探小说千篇一律,便在主角、写作风格上力求创新,而求新求变的结果使推理文学出现了新的写作形式,如心理惊魂小说、冒险动作______间谍小说、冷面硬汉派小说等,他们______重塑侦探形象、拓展取材范围,甚至走纯文学的路线,其目
根据我国宪法,下列关于自然资源制度的表述,正确的是()。
EconomicconditionshaveimprovedduringthepastdecadeinmanyNorthAmericanandEuropeanCBDs,primarilybecauseofanunpre
最新回复
(
0
)