176
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Better Reading English
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the tips again. Answer the questions.
1.
According to the passage, why is it important to establish healthy food
routines when children are young?
2.
What are three healthy food routines?
HOUSEHOLD CHORES
I.
PRE-READING
A.
Background information
This passage is from the book
Raising a Self-Disciplined Child
,
by Robert
Brooks, PhD, and Sam Goldstein, PhD. The book is about how to help your
child become more responsible, conident, and resilient.
This passage offers
advice on how parents can get their children to help with the household chores
without having to nag or punish.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____
1.
practical
a. willing to be helpful by doing what
someone asks for
____
2.
tedious
b. intending to punish
____
3.
eager
c. boring and long
____
4.
nagging
d. useful and reasonable
____
5.
procrastination
e. delaying something that should be
done;
to put off
____
6.
punitive
f. to annoy with repeated requests
____
7.
strategy
g. very excited and interested
____
8.
cooperative
h. a careful plan
C.
Reading strategy
Read the text. Then answer the question.
This passage can be understood as a response to parents’ frustrations and
questions about getting children involved in household chores. What is the
parents’ question the authors are addressing?
Children and Parents
|
177
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look
them up.
As a practical matter, even if we are careful to express to our children that we
need their help for the household to run more smoothly, many responsibilities
still seem boring or tedious. How many of us are eager to clean our room, clear
the dishes, or take out the garbage? These are the kinds of activities that result
in procrastination or “forgetting,” which leads to nagging
and punitive forms of
discipline. Parents often ask, “What can we do so that our kids complete these
chores without our nagging?” These are steps you can take to help to get
things done and prevent discipline problems.
1.
Talk about why the tasks have to be done. Discuss with your children why
certain activities are important and what would occur if they weren’t done.
2.
Have a family meeting about what needs to be done. Sit down as a family,
and list the household responsibilities. Often differences of opinion arise
about what responsibilities are important. These differences can serve as
the basis for further dialogue among family members.
Some chores judged
important at one point may later be discarded. Once a list of
responsibilities is complete, your family can review which items must be
done by certain members of the household and which can be done by any
family member.
3.
Figure out who does what, when, and for how long. When your list of
responsibilities is done and prioritized, your
family can develop a system
for how these responsibilities should be delegated and for what length of
time. Some families design a rotating schedule so that chores among
family members change every week or month.
4.
Agree on a way to remind everyone of chores. Even with the aid of a
written list and rotating chores, children (and even parents) may forget to
meet their responsibilities. Discuss what the family should do if anyone,
including parents, neglects to fulill a responsibility.
Whatever the strategy you use, involve your children
in understanding why
everyone in the family needs to help and how the work can be distributed fairly.
While parents can reserve the inal say, children will appreciate their role in
family life if they believe their views are being heard. When this occurs, they are
more likely to be cooperative and responsible, and you will have helped to
develop self-discipline.
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