The unstoppable love of the snowplow parents

安徽安慶市石化第一中學 金安民

有這樣一種父母，他們對孩子的飲食起居、教育及未來都細心謀劃，給孩子掃除通往成功之路的一切障礙，他們因此被稱為“掃雪機父母”。

?

難詞探意

1. morsel /?m??sl/ n. 少量；一塊（食物）

2. scrap /skr?p/ n. 碎片

3. resilient /r??z?li?nt/ adj. 有適應力的

4. maturity /m??t???r?ti/ n. 成熟

5. inclined /?n?kla?nd/ adj. 想（做某事）；有……傾向

Forget tiger moms and wave goodbye to helicopter parents because there's a new type of parent pushing his or her way through the schoolyard—and he or she will stop at nothing to ensure the children's success.

The “snowplow parents” will constantly force obstacles out of their kids' paths. They focus on the future success of their children, and anyone or anything that stands in the way has to be removed.

It sounds similar to helicopter parenting, I know, but there are some differences. Helicopter parents hover and micro-manage out of fear. They observe everymorselthat enters their children's bodies, they monitor their every move, and they keep a close eye on everyscrapof homework. They hold their kids close to them because they're anxious about the big and wide world.

Snowplow parents may also micro-manage when it comes to diet and education, but they do so with an eye on the future. They want to remove any pain or difficulties from their children's paths so that their kids can succeed.They are the parents sitting in the principal's office asking about extra courses or for special allowances for their children.

How do I know all? Because I may just fall into the snowplow category myself as a mother. For years I've been searching for a label for my parenting style. And snowplow parenting may be the one for me. I can let my kids walk to school on their own because the research tells me it will contribute to their independence and self-esteem. But I will write notes to excuse them from their homework if I don't agree with the approach. And yes, I do drive them to school on really cold days. But I'm not all in. I'm OK with them experiencing failure at school or not being on the school sports teams. I do make their lives a little easier—often in ways that they don't notice.

Research shows that helicopter parenting can have a negative effect on kids. They are lessresilient, and less likely to take risks. They never develop proper coping skills or thematurityto make decisions on their own. Experts fear that children of snowplow parents will have similar issues—they won't be able to handle failure or solve problems independently.

I realize that I can't remove every obstacle from my children's paths. On especially snowy days,I'm stillinclinedto pull out the snowplow and move everything that blocks their ways, but I'm working on it. Maybe I will get the kids to shovel the walk this week.

Reading

Check

1. How many types of parents are mentioned in the text?

A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.

2. What can we know about snowplow parents?

A. They monitor their kids out of fear.

B. They pay little attention to their kids' education.

C. They're anxious about the world's influences on their kids.

D. They care much about their kids with an eye on the future.

3. Why does the author let her kids walk to school on their own?

A. To develop her kids' independence and self-esteem.

B. To test her kids' abilities to deal with problems.

C. To show her indifference to the kids.

D. To save the expensive driving costs.

4. What's the experts' attitude to helicopter parenting?

A. Neutral. B. Negative. C. Indifferent. D. Puzzled.

Language

Study

Difficult sentence

They are the parents sitting in the principal's office asking about extra courses or for special allowances for their children.

【翻譯】________________________________________

【點石成金】該句為一個主系表結構，They為主語, are為系動詞，parents為表語，sitting in the...for their children為parents的定語。