金安民

有這樣一種父母，他們對(duì)孩子的飲食起居、教育及未來都細(xì)心謀劃，他們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(jī)父母”。

難詞探意

1. morsel /·m·rsl/ n. 一口;（尤指食物）小塊

2. scrap /skr·p/ n. 小片

3. resilient /r··z·li·nt/ adj. 能復(fù)原的;有彈性的

4. maturity /m··t··r·ti/ n. 成熟

5. inclined /·n·kla·nd/ adj. 傾斜的;傾向的

Forget Tiger Moms and wave goodbye to helicopter parents because theres a new type of parent pushing her way through the schoolyard—and she will stop at nothing to ensure her childs success.

The “snowplow parent” is defined as a person who constantly forces obstacles out of their kids paths. They have their eye on the future success of their child， and anyone or anything that stands in their way has to be removed.

It sounds similar to helicopter parenting， I know， but there are some differences. Helicopter parents hover and micromanage out of fear. They observe every morsel that enters their childs body， they monitor their every move， they keep a close eye on every scrap of homework. They hold their kids close to them because theyre anxious about the big， wide world.

Snowplow parents may also micromanage 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 childrens paths so that their kids can succeed. They are the parents sitting in the principals office asking about extra courses or for special allowances for their child.

How do I know all this· Because I may just fall into the snowplow category myself as a mother. For years Ive 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 selfesteem. But I will write notes to excuse them from their homework if I dont agree with the approach. And yes， I do drive them to school on really cold days. But Im not all in. Im OK with them experiencing some failures at school or not being on the school sports teams. I do make their lives a little easier—often in ways that they dont notice.

Research shows that helicopter parenting can have a negative effect on kids. They are less resilient， and less likely to take risks. They never develop proper coping skills or the maturity to make decisions on their own. Experts fear that children of snowplow parents will have similar issues—they wont be able to handle failure or solve problems independently.

I realize that I cant remove every obstacle from my childrens paths. On especially snowy days， Im still be inclined to pull out the snowplow and move everything that blocks their way， but Im 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. Theyre anxious about the worlds influences on their kid.

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 selfesteem.

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. Whats the experts attitude to helicopter parenting·

A. Neutral.

B. Negative.

C. Positive.

D. Puzzled.

Language study

Difficult sentence

They are the parents sitting in the principals office asking about extra courses or for special allowances for their child.

【翻譯】

【點(diǎn)石成金】該句為一個(gè)主系表結(jié)構(gòu)，they為主語(yǔ)， are為系動(dòng)詞，parents為表語(yǔ)，sitting in the...for their child為parents的定語(yǔ)。