1) Your teens don’t want you to be their friends. What they need is for you to be a reliable responsible role model worthy of their respect, and not some overgrown child who wears too tight jeans or T-shirts with slogans advocating the good points of 100 proof liquor.
2) Don’t debate the teen ever. If she wants to debate, suggest she sign up for the Debate Club. If you buy into their teen logic (which is basically illogic, the product of an immature brain and every extreme of emotion known to mankind) your mouth will go dry. Teens need to know that no means no. Remember when your teen was two years old and he said “no” a lot? Well now it’s your turn, particularly when your teen wants to engage in behaviors that are dangerous.
3) Don’t buy your teen a car. If you do, he will
total it in record time. Guaranteed. The teen should earn the car, or at least a portion of it (and by that I don’t mean one of the tires). You know how you take much better care of an item of clothing you spent a fortune on compared to one you bought in a bargain basement? It’s the same thing, only a car can
do serious damage.
4) Encourage sports participation even if your teen has two left feet. In some sports, two left feet won’t knock him out of the box, so to speak. Sports participation develops perseverance and cheerfully functioning as a team member. You also will know where your child is every day after school (on the field, that is, or at a rival school). Just make sure you root for the right team, okay? Been there, done that.
5) Let the school know you in a good way so that school personnel do not dive under the desk when you approach. If you are asked to speak at the school, your teen will feel mighty proud. If you make something for the bake sale, try to make it taste edible and if you can’t see it through, do yo
urself and your child a favor and buy something at the local bakery or supermarket.
6) To know your teens’ friends is to know your teens. Teens have a secret life, and a parent’s goal is to find out secrecy that is sometimes thicker than the CIA and the KGB combined. If you really want to know what your kid is up to, get to know their friends. How? By being warm and kind, and by asking questions that don’t sound like an interrogation(審訊), but serve that purpose without their knowing it.
小題1: When your kids are doing something that might negatively affect their future, you should _____.
A.have your kids express their opinions fully and then discuss with them |
B.think about how you can be their close friends |
C.report that to their school immediately |
D.say no and tell them that they must stop |
小題2: According to the passage, as a parent, you should encourage your kids __________.
A.to wear too tight jeans | B.to sign up for the Debate Club |
C.to be greatly involved in sports | D.to make as many friends as they can |
小題3: The underlined word “total” in the third paragraph probably means ________.
A.damage | B.a(chǎn)dd | C.buy | D.earn |
小題4: The passage mainly wants you to know that __________.
A.kids have their secrecy and freedom |
B.Raising Teenagers calls for certain parenting skills |
C.your teen needs some house rules |
D.the family is changing |