World Journal (New York) - World Journal (New York) - Weekly Supplement
無聊的暑假
對孩子比較好？
●Do you entertain your kids with chess camp, art school, cooking classes, or tennis lessons during the unstructured summer months? Or perhaps all of them?暑假沒規畫，你會送孩子去西洋棋營隊、才藝班、烹飪課或學網球玩樂一番嗎？或可能每項都參加？
●There are activities and summer camps galore to fill children’s time and supply much needed childcare when kids are out of school. But psychologists and child development experts suggest that over-scheduling children during the summer is unnecessary and could ultimately keep kids from from discovering what truly interests them.有很多精采活動與夏令營填滿孩子的時間，並提供許多校外孩童照護服務。不過心理學者與孩童發展專家建議，沒必要為孩子的暑假過度安排活動，最終可能阻礙孩子探索他們真正的興趣。
●“Your role as a parent is to prepare children to take their place in society. Being an adult means occupying yourself and filling up your leisure time in a way that will make you happy,” says Lyn Fry, a child psychologist in London with a focus on education. “If parents spend all their time filling up their child’s spare time, then the child’s never going to learn to do this for themselves.”倫敦兒童教育心理學家琳恩．佛萊(Lyn Fry)表示：「家長的角色是讓孩子準備好邁入社會。變成大人代表自己找事做並填滿你的休閒時間，而且從中感到快樂。如果家長用盡時間填滿小孩的閒暇時間，那麼孩子永遠沒辦法自己學會這些事。」
●Fry is not the only one to point out the benefits of boredom. Dr. Teresa Belton, visiting fellow at the University of East Anglia with a focus on the connection between boredom and imagination, told the BBC that boredom is crucial for developing “internal stimulus,” which then allows true creativity.佛萊並非唯一指出無聊好處的人。英國東英吉利大學客座教授泰瑞莎．貝爾頓(Teresa Belton)博士專研無聊與想像力的關係，她告訴英國廣播公司(BBC)，無聊對發展「內在刺激」至關重要，這有助形成真正的創意。
●Fry suggests that at the the start of the summer, parents sit down with their kids—at least those above the age of four—and collectively write down a list of everything their children might enjoy doing during their break. These can be basic activities, such as playing cards, reading a book, or going for a bicycle ride. They could also be more elaborate ideas such as cooking a fancy dinner, putting on a play, or practicing photography.佛萊建議，家長在夏季一開始就該和至少四歲以上的孩子坐下來談話，一起寫下小孩暑假可能想做的所有事項清單。這可以是基本活動，例如玩牌、讀一本書或騎腳踏車；也可以是更複雜的內容，像是煮一頓豐盛晚餐、參演話劇或練習攝影。
●Then, if your child comes to you throughout the summer complaining of boredom, tell them to go and look at the list.接著，如果你的孩子在暑假時跟你抱怨很無聊，就叫孩子看看那份清單。