Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son. Suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna said. Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up(依偎) with me on the sofa and talk,” said Mark. “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a young lady. The problem is finding out which time is which.” Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list,” said Michael Riera, a writer. “This completely changes during the teen years,” Riera explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.” Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are the best to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say, and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental(脑力的) break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them. 小题1:The underlined sentence in the first paragraph means that __________.
|