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w关键词：child/儿童，parents/父母，independence/独立，America/美国 |
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w目录：Education/教育 |
w话题：
教育，家庭 |
w类型：记叙文 |
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w难度级别：
初级 |
w词汇要求：800 |
w文章词数：500 |
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[ 生 词 可 拖 选 或 双 击 ] |
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Many children are
taught at a very early age
to make decisions and be responsible
for their actions. |
Child
raising and young adulthood in America
美国家庭的儿童和青年
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作者：Unknown [美国] |
来源：www.englishfree.com.cn |
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日期：2008-4-6 |
责编：Emma |
Child raising
Acculturation, which begins at
birth, is the process of teaching new generations of children
the customs and values of the parents' culture. How people treat
newborns, for example, can be indicative of cultural values.
In the United Sates, it is not
uncommon for parents to put a newborn in a separate room that
belongs only to the child. This helps to preserve parents'
privacy and allows the child to get used to having his or her
own room, which is seen as a first step toward personal
independence.
Americans traditionally have held
independence and a closely related value, individualism, in high
esteem. Parents try to instill these prevailing values in their
children.
American English expresses these
value preferences: children should "cut the (umbilical) cord"
and are encouraged not to be "tied to their mothers' apron
strings". In the process of their socialization children learn
to "look out for number one" and to "stand on their own two
feet."
Many children are taught at a
very early age to make decisions and be responsible for their
actions. Often children work for money outside the home as a
first step to establish autonomy. Nine or ten-year-old children
may deliver newspapers in their neighborhoods and save or spend
their earnings. Teenagers (13 to 19 years) may babysit at
neighbors' homes in order to earn a few dollars a week.
Receiving a weekly allowance at
an early age teaches children to budget their money, preparing
them for future financial independence. Many parents believe
that managing money helps children learn responsibility as well
as appreciate the value of money.
Young adulthood
Upon reaching an appropriate age
(usually between 18 and 21 years), children are encouraged, but
not forced, to "leave the nest" and begin an independent life.
After children leave home, they often find social relationships
and financial support outside the family.
Parents do not arrange marriages
for their children, nor do children usually ask permission of
their parents to get married. Romantic love is most often the
basis for marriage in the United States; young adults meet their
future spouses through other friends, at school, at jobs, and in
organizations and religious institutions.
Although children choose their
own spouses, they still hope their parents will approve of their
choices. In many families, parents feel that children should
make major life decisions by themselves. A parent may try to
influence a child to follow a particular profession but the
child is free to choose another career.
Sometimes children do precisely
the opposite of what their parents wish in order to assert their
independence. A son may deliberately decide not to go into his
father's business because of a fear that he will lose his
autonomy in his father's workplace.
This independence from parents is
not an indication that parents and children do not love each
other. Strong love between parents and children is universal and
this is no exception in the American family. Coexisting with
such love in the American family are cultural values of
self-reliance and independence.
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