Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time with the family are still worried that without TV they would constantly be on call as entertainers for their children. They remember thinking up all sorts of things to do when they were kids. But their own kids seem different, less resourceful, somehow. When there’s nothing to do, these parents observe regretfully, their kids seem unable to come up with anything to do besides turning on the TV.
One father, for example, says, “When I was a kid, we were always thinking up things to do, projects and games. We certainly never complained in an annoying way to our parents. ‘I have nothing to do’.” He compares this with his own children today: “They’re simply lazy. If someone doesn’t entertain them, they’ll happily sit there watching TV all day.”
There is one word for this father’s disappointment: unfair. It is as if he were disappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied the language. He deplores (哀叹) his children’s lack of inventiveness, as if the ability to play were something born that his children are missing. In fact, while the tendency to play is built into the human species, the actual ability to play – to imagine, to invent, to elaborate on reality in a playful way –and the ability to gain fulfillment from it, these are skills that have to be learned and developed.
Such disappointment, however, is not only unjust, it is also destructive. Sensing their parents’ disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lacking something, and that this makes them less worthy of admiration and respect. Giving children the opportunity to develop new resources, to enlarge their horizons and discover the pleasure of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, a way to help children develop a confident feeling about themselves as capable and interesting people.
小题1: According to many parents, if there’s nothing to do, the children would .
A．turn on the TV
B．complain to their parents
C．ask their parents to play with them
D．do all of the above小题2: Many parents think that, instead of watching a lot of TV their children should .
A．sit silently studying Greek
B．think up things to entertain themselves
C．find chances to talk with parents
D．enjoy themselves outdoors小题3:The father often blames their children for not being able to entertain themselves. This is unfair because .
A．the children are not really lazy, but there’s nothing for them to do
B．they do not lack the ability to play
C．they have to learn and develop their playing ability gradually
D．the father have done nothing to help the children小题4: When parents show constant disappointment in their children, the children will .
A．lose their confidence and respectability
B．be much more disappointed
C．refuse to learn new things
D．discover the pleasures of doing things on their own小题5:What is the author’s main idea?
A．Today’s children are becoming less capable and independent than before.
B．Parents should give children more help on how to be creative.
C．Turning off the TV will help us solve a lot of family problems.
D．It’s not just for parents and children to complain each other.
