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
Helicopter Moms VS. Free-Range Kids A)Would you let your fourth-grader ride public transportation without an adult? Probably not
Helicopter Moms VS. Free-Range Kids A)Would you let your fourth-grader ride public transportation without an adult? Probably not
admin
2015-01-31
33
问题
Helicopter Moms VS. Free-Range Kids
A)Would you let your fourth-grader ride public transportation without an adult? Probably not. Still, when Lenore Skenazy, a columnist for the New York Sun, wrote about letting her son take the subway alone to get back to "Long story short: my son got home from a department store on the Upper East Side", she didn’t expect to get hit with a wave of criticism from readers.
B)"Long story short: My son got home, overjoyed with independence," Skenazy wrote on April 4 in the New York Sun. "Long story longer: Half the people I’ve told this episode to now want to turn on in for child abuse. As if keeping kids under lock and key and cell phone and careful watch is the right way to rear kids. It’s not. It’s debilitating(使虚弱)—for us and for them."
C)Online message boards were soon full of people both applauding and condemning Skenazy’s decision to let her son go it alone. She wound up defending herself on CNN(accompanied by her son)and on popular blogs like the buffing ton post, where her follow-up piece was ironically headlined "More From America’ s Worst Mom."
D)The episode has ignited another one of those debates that divides parents into vocal opposing camps. Are Modern parents needlessly overprotective, or is the world a more complicated and dangerous place than it was when previous generations were allowed to wander about unsupervised?
E)From the "she’s an irresponsible mother" camp came: "Shame on you for being so careless about his safety," in Comments on the buffing ton post. And there was this from a mother of four: "How would you have felt if he didn’t come home?" But Skenazy got a lot of support, too, with women and men writing in with stories about how they were allowed to take trips all by themselves at seven or eight. She also got heaps of praise for bucking the "helicopter parent" trend: "Good for this Mom," one commenter wrote on the buffing ton post. "This is a much-needed reality check."
F)Last week, encouraged by all the attention, Skenazy started her own blog—Free Range kids—promoting the idea that modern children need some of the same independence that her generation had. In the good old days nine-year-old baby boomers rode their bikes to school, walked to the store, took buses—and even subways—all by themselves. Her blog, she says, is dedicated to sensible parenting. "At Free Range Kids, we believe in safe kids. We believe in car seats and safety belts. We do NOT believe that every time school-age children go outside, they need a security guard."
G)So why are some parents so nervous about letting their children out of their sight? Are cities and towns less safe and kids more vulnerable to crimes like child kidnap and sexual abuse than they were in previous generations?
H)Not exactly. New York City, for instance, is safer than it’s ever been; it’s ranked 36th in crime among all American cities. Nationwide, stranger kidnaps are extremely rare; there’s a one-in-a-million chance a child will be taken by a stranger, according to the Justice Department. And 90 percent of sexual abuse cases are committed by someone the child knows. Mortality rates from all causes, including disease and accidents, for American children are lower now than they were 25 years’ ago. According to Child Trends, a nonprofit research group, between 1980 and 2003 death rates dropped by 44 percent for children aged 5 to 14 and 32 percent for teens aged 15 to 19.
I)Then there’s the whole question of whether modern parents are more watchful and nervous about safety than previous generations. Yes, some are. Part of the problem is that with wall to wall Internet and cable news, every missing child case gets so much airtime that it’s not surprising even normal parental anxiety can be amplified. And many middle-class parents have gotten used to managing their children’s time and shuttling them to various enriching activities, so the idea of letting them out on their own can seem like a risk. Back in 1972, when many of today’s parents were kids, 87 percent of children who lived within a mile of school walked or biked every day. But today, the Centers for Disease Control report that only 13 percent of children bike, walk or otherwise get themselves to school.
J)The extra supervision is both a city and a suburb phenomenon. Parents are worried about crime, and they are worried about kids getting caught in traffic in a city that’s not used to pedestrians. On the other hand, there are still plenty of kids whose parents give them a lot of independence, by choice or by necessity. The After School Alliance finds that more than 14 million kids aged 5 to 17 are responsible for taking care of themselves after school. Only 6.5 million kids participate in organized programs. "Many children who have working parents have to take the subway or bus to get to school. Many do this by themselves because they have no other way to get to the schools," says Dr. Richard Gallagher, director of the Parenting Institute at the New York University Child Study Center.
K)For those parents who wonder how and when they should start allowing their kids more freedom, there’s no clear-cut answer. Child experts discourage a one-size-fits-all approach to parenting. What’s right for Skenazy’s nine-year-old could be inappropriate for another one. It all depends on developmental issue, maturity, and the psychological and emotional makeup of that child. Several factors must be taken into account, says Gallagher. "The ability to follow parent guidelines, the child’s level of comfort in handling such situations, and a child’ s general judgment should be weighed."
L)Gallagher agrees with Skenazy that many nine-year-olds are ready for independence like taking public transportation alone. "At certain times of the day, on certain routes, the subways are generally safe for these children, especially if they have grown up in the city and have been taught how to be safe, how to obtain help if they are concerned for their safety, and how to avoid unsafe situations by being watchful and on their toes."
M)But even with more traffic and fewer sidewalks, modern parents do have one advantage their parents didn’t: the cell phone. Being able to check in with a child anytime goes a long way toward relieving parental anxiety and may help parents loosen their control a little sooner. Skenazy got a lot of criticism because she didn ’t give her kid her cell phone because she thought he’d lose it and wanted him to learn to go it alone without depending on mom—a major principle of free-range parenting. But most parents are more than happy to use cell phones to keep track of their kids.
N)And for those who like the idea of free-range kids but still struggle with their inner helicopter parent, there may be a middle way. A new generation of GPS cell phones with tracking software make it easier than ever to follow a child’s every movement via the Internet—without seeming to interfere or hover. Of course, when they go to college, they might start objecting to being monitored as they’ re on parole(假释).
Mortality rates of children are lower now than they were 25 years’ ago.
选项
答案
H
解析
题干关键词为25 years’ago和Mortality rates。文中H段提到,Mortalityrates from all causes,including disease and accidents,for American children are lowernow than they were 25 years’ago,与题干意思吻合,故选H。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/nAq7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
"Avoidtherush-hour"mustbethesloganoflargecitiestheworldover,whereveryoulookit’speople,people,people.Thetrai
Byimposingstrictrulesaboutalcohol,parentscanreducetheirkids’impulsestodrink,accordingtoanewstudy.【C1】_____
IoncerentedacaratanagencyinagarageinRome.Theparkingstructurewastightandpoorlylighted,andbeforeIevenexit
Inanewarticle,fourLondondoctorswarnofaprofessionalwhoiscommittingmalpracticeandgettingawaywithit:thetoothf
A、Theplayisseldomdelayedtostart.B、Theplaywillstarttwentyminuteslater.C、Theyseldomreadnewspaper.D、Theyprobably
TheRedistributionofHope"HOPE"isoneofthemostoverusedwordsinpubliclife,uptherewith"change".Yetitmatterse
HowShouldTeachersBeRewarded?A)Weneverforgetourbestteachers—thosewhoinspireduswithadeeperunderstandingoranend
A、Itisthelargestsupplierofvaluableminerals.B、Itwilldisappearinaboutthirtyyears.C、Itisbeginningtogrowsmaller
A、Theproblemsofpoorestcountries.B、Thepopulationproblemsindevelopingcountries.C、Problemscausedbylowbirthrate.D、B
随机试题
关于游离胆红素的叙述,正确的是
执业药师应当
生命,是一树花开,或热烈或寂寞。生命中,总有一些令人唏嘘的空白,有些人让你牵挂,却不能相守;有些东西让你__________,却不能拥有;有些错过让你留恋,却终生遗憾。总想寻一处山林,安静生活浅写岁月;总想借一些日子,__________向日葵的温暖,栽种
以下不属于商业银行内部控制的目标的是()。
某公司预算年度计划新增留存收益为150万元,目标股利分配额为600万元,适用的所得税率为25%,则目标利润总额是()。
某企业2007年6月15日自行建造的一条生产线投入使用,该生产线建造成本为430万元,预计使用年限为5年,预计净残值为10万元。在采用双倍余额递减法计提折旧的情况下,2007年该设备应计提的折旧额为()万元。
2007年,甲公司出资百分之六十、乙公司出资百分之四十,投资创办丙有限责任公司,甲公司总经理刘某兼任丙公司的董事长。赵成打算加入丙公司成为股东,并拟人资二十万元,下列几种方式中,符合《公司法》规定的是()。
[*]
【C1】________TheDailyMirrorandtheDailyExpressbothsellaboutfourmillioncopieseveryday.Apartfromthenationalpapers
SoundEffectsSnorers(打鼾的人)havealwaysbeenmadejokes.Incartoons,theirnasalroar1iftstheroofoffhouses.Insituation
最新回复
(
0
)