Phrases like “tiger mom" and "helicopter parent” have made their way into everyday language. Many of us find ourselves drawn to the idea that with just a bit more parental hard work and effort, we might turn out children with bright futures. But is there anything wrong with a kind of“over parenting style”?

    Parental involvement has a long history of being studied. Many of the studies, conducted by Diana Baumrind, a famous psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that a good parent is the one who is involved and reacts to her child in a positive way, who sets high expectations but gives her child independence. These “authoritative parents”appear to hit the sweet spot of parental involvement and generally raise children who do better academically, psychologically and socially than children whose parents are not strict and less involved, or controlling and more involved. Why is this parenting style so successful?

    Authoritative parents actually help improve motivation in their children. Carol Dweck, a social psychologist at Stanford University, has done research that indicates why authoritative parents raise more motivated children. In a typical experiment, Dr. Dweck takes young children into a room and asks them to solve a simple puzzle. Most do so with little difficulty. Butthen Dr. Dweck tells some, but not all, of the kids how clever they are. As it turns out, the children who are not told they're smart are more motivated to solve increasingly difficult puzzles. They also show higher levels of confidence and show greater progress in puzzle-solving.

    As the experiment suggests, praising children's talents and abilities seems to shake their confidence. Dealing with more difficult puzzles carries the risk of losing one's status as “smart”. Dr. Dweck's work strongly supports that of Dr. Baumrind, who also found that reasonably supporting a child's independence and limiting interference (干涉) causes better academic and emotional results.

    The central task of growing up is to develop a sense of self that is independent and confident. If you treat your young child who is just learning to walk as if she can't walk, you reduce her confidence. Allowing children to make mistakes is one of the greatest challenges of parenting. It is easier when they are young. The potential mistakes carry greater risks, and part of being a parent is reducing risk for our children.

    The TED speaker series features “ideas worth spreading.” With over 1,400 to choose from, we've selected a few that are perfect for students.

    Larry Smith: Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career

    We humans have an excellent ability to make excuses for ourselves. Larry Smith, a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo in Canada, tells us why most of us will fail to have a great career. But there is a way out— if you try to pursue your passion.  

    Andy Puddicombe: All It takes Is 10 Mindful Minutes

    Between dance team, volunteering and—oh, right—lectures, your life's crazy factor is about to go way up. In this entertaining and informative talk, mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe teaches us how to be “healthier, more mindful and less distracted” by taking just 10 minutes out of the day to be more present.

    Shane Koyczan: To This DAY for the Bullied and Beautiful

    This talk is sure to stay with you. Shane Koyczan's “To this DAY” is an affecting spoken-word poem about bullying and being different that gained over 10 million views on YouTube. In this talk, Koyczan gives a live reading of the poem, along with some stories about his background.

    Susan Cain: The power of Introverts (性格内向者)

    Does a cup of tea and a good book sound like a perfect Friday night? In this personal talk, Susan Cain argues that introverts have important talents and abilities. Our culture may value being social and outgoing, but the world needs all kinds.

B

    A five-year-old dog named Kelsey has been praised as a hero for helping to save the life of her owner who slipped in the snow and broke his neck.

The man, Bob, was alone when he left his Michigan farmhouse on New Year's Eve to collect firewood. Expecting a journey of only several meters, Bob was wearing just long johns (秋裤), a shirt and slippers when he went outside, although the temperature was around -4℃.

    After the accident, he was unable to move in the snow. Fortunately, Kelsey came to his assistance.

    “I was shouting for help, but my nearest neighbor is about 400 meters away, and it was 10:30 p.m.,” Bob explained. “But my Kelsey came. By the next morning, my voice was gone and I couldn't yell for help, but Kelsey didn't stop barking.”

    Bob's companion kept him warm by lying on top of him. She licked his face and hands to keep him awake. “Kelsey kept barking but never left my side,” Bob recalled. “She kept me warm. I knew I couldn't give up and that it was my choice to stay alive.”

Bob spent 19 hours in the freezing cold. When he finally lost consciousness, his dog kept barking. Finally, hearing the barking, Bob's neighbor discovered him at 6:30 p.m. on New Year's Day and called the emergency services at once. When Bob arrived in hospital, his body temperature was below 21℃. However, doctors were surprised to find that he didn't have any frostbite (冻疮). They believed it was because of Kelsey's determination to keep him warm. Dr. Chaim Colen, the doctor who treated Bob, said, “Animals can help and his dog really saved him … he was very fortunate.”

    Bob said he was “enormously” grateful for both Dr. Colen and his Kelsey. “They saved my life. They are true heroes!”

    When she first started learning about the climate change from one of her elders, Fawn Sharp was invited on a helicopter flight over the Olympic Mountains to survey the Mount Anderson glacier(冰川). But the glacier was gone, melted by the warming climate. Sharp had a deep sense of loss when she discovered the glacier wasn't there anymore.

    Loss is a growing issue for people working and living on the front lines of climate change. And that gave Jennifer Wren Atkinson, a full-time lecturer at the University of Washington Bothell, US, an idea for a class.

    This term, she taught students on the Bothell campus about the emotional burdens of environmental study. She used the experiences of Nalive American tribes (部落) , scientists and activists, and asked her 24 students to face the reality that there is no easy fix -- that "this is such an intractable problem that they're going to be dealing with it for the rest of their lives.”

    Student Cody Dillon used to be a climate science skeptic (怀疑论者) . Then he did his own reading and research, and changed his mind.

    Dillon wasn't going into environmental work--he was a computer-science major. Yet, the potential for a worldwide environmental catastrophe seemed so real to him five years ago that he quit his job and became a full-time volunteer for an environmental group that worked on restoration (恢复) projects.

Six months into the work, he decided that Alkinson's class was just what he was looking for 一 a place where he could discuss his concerns about a changing climate.

Atkinson said she hopes the class helped her students prepare themselves for the amount of environmental loss that will happen over their lifetimes.

    “We are already changing the planet - . so many species are going to be lost, displaced or massively impacted (巨大影响的) ,”she said. “The future isn't going to be what they imagined.”

    One day a mime(哑剧演员) is visiting the zoo and tries to earn some money as a street performer. As soon as he starts to draw a crowd, a zookeeper pulls him into his office. The zookeeper explains that the zoo's most popular attraction, a gorilla(大猩猩), has died suddenly and the keeper fears that attendance(出席人数) at the zoo will fall off. He offers the mime a job to dress up as the gorilla. The mime accepts.

    The next morning the mime puts on the gorilla suit and enters the cage before the crowd comes. He soon discovers he can sleep, play and make fun of people and he draws bigger crowds than he ever did as a mime — the job he likes but loses.

    However, with days going by, he begins to notice that the people are paying more attention to the lion in the cage next to his. Not wanting to lose the attention of his audience, he climbs to the top of his cage, crawls across a partition(隔墙), and dangles(悬挂) from the top to the lion's cage. The lion gets angry at this. The scene is a fuel to the crowd.

    At the end of the day he is given a raise for being such a good attraction — well, this continues for some time. The crowds grow larger, and the mime's pay keeps going up.

    Then one day when he is dangling over the lion he slides and falls. The mime is terrified. He starts screaming “Help me!”, but the lion is quick. The mime soon finds himself flat on his back looking up at the angry lion and the lion says, “Shut up you fool! Do you want to get us both fired?”

Volunteering

    Just like the animals we shelter, people are very special to us. The Animal Shelter of Sacramento County has 300 active volunteers and is always eager to add more. If you have a few hours each week and a love for dogs and cats, we at the shelter welcome your participation.

    Youth Volunteers

    Children 10 years of age or older are allowed to take part in some of our programs as youth volunteers when accompanied by an adult. The adult can be a parent, or guardian 18 years of age or older. Volunteering is rewarding for a number of reasons. Youth volunteers learn responsibility as they serve the community. Volunteers are rewarded with the love for our sheltered animals. Volunteers learn about the needs of dogs and cats and how to care for those needs.

    Youth Volunteer Qualifications

    A youth volunteer must:

    *care deeply about animals and their happiness

    *complete an application form

    *be at least 10 years of age and accompanied by an adult

    *attend a training program

    Youth Volunteer Opportunities

    Youth volunteers may fill the position of dog nuzzler, cat snuggler, or kennel aide, if there are openings. Please call our volunteer information hotline at 1-800-290-5992 to hear a recording of the positions available.

    Dog Nuzzlers

    Dogs need to exchange information with human and exercise to stay healthy and feel comfortable around people. Dog nuzzlers must be knowledgeable about dogs and able to deal with medium-sized to large-sized dogs. Youth volunteer dog nuzzlers must be able to work at least two hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on either Saturdays or Sundays.

    Cat Snugglers

    Look after our cats, giving them lots of attention. Cat snugglers must be knowledgeable about cats and their needs. Youth volunteer cat snugglers must be able to work at least two hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on either Saturdays or Sundays.

    Kennel Aides

    Providing food and water for the animals at the shelter is a demanding job. Kennel aides assist the Animal Shelter staff in feeding the animals in our care. Kennel aides must be able to work at least two hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on either Saturdays or Sundays.