A few years ago, I read about an eight-year-old girl who studied elephant poaching in school and made a poster for her local grocery store. The slogan read, "Save the elephants. Don't buy Ivory Soap, or they will die out." What the girl had done taught me a lesson. Since then, I have looked at eight-year-olds in a different way. As an environmental educator, I used to teach eight-year-olds about the harm of elephant poaching, rainforest destruction, and global warming. I had a degree in natural science—but not in child development. What did I think I was accomplishing by putting my environmental concerns on the shoulders of kids who still believe in fairy tales?

Kids develop the fear of nature when their primary contact with the natural world is hearing bad news about the environment. If I wanted to inspire conservation action, I needed to change my ways, but now? I came across a research by psychologist Louise Chawla. She wanted to know what had gone on in the childhoods of adults who are good environmental citizens. She found two things most common. They had free time to explore the rivers or woods down the street, and they had an adult in their lives who was enthusiastic about the natural world. I understand now that what turned me into a good person today was a childhood spent playing in the field and having a dad who knew that finding a lobster under a rock was better than finding treasure.

    So that's what I was doing when I was eight years old—looking under rocks, climbing trees, and picking wild .flowers. I didn't know a thing about the Clean Air Act that was being debated in congress at that time. I didn't hear a lot of environmental problems. But I built a relationship with nature and I grew up to care. Now I treat my own kids like the child I was. My kids turn off the water when they brush their teeth and turn off the lights when they leave a room.

    Michael and I did not know when the waiter put the plates on our table. At the time we were sitting in a small restaurant, hidden from the busy Third Street, in New York City. Even the smell of fresh serving blintze did not interfered our conversation. In fact, we let the blintze soaked in the sour cream. We just enjoy the conversation too much that we forgot to eat. Our conversation was so delightful though we did not speak about important things. We laughed and spoke about the film which we have just watched.

    While our fun conversation continued, my eyes went across the room and stop on the corner. A couple of old folks sat in there. The woman wearing the flower dress with faded color, the same with the pillow where she laid her pallid handbag. The man's top head shined just like the boiled egg which he ate very slowly. The woman chewed her oatmeal(燕麦片) very slowly too, seemed with very much effort.

    But what made my mind thought about them was the silence around them. Michael and I paid our food and went on. When we passed the corner where the couple sat, my wallet fell. When I stopped to get it, I saw under the table, they were tenderly holding each other's hand. They were eating in silence while holding each other's hand! I was very touched to see the simple yet the very meaningful action reflecting the close relationship of the couple.

    Their silence was the pleasant and relaxing one, it was the expression of the tender love and it did not always need the words to express it. They might spend the hours holding each other's hand like this in the morning.

    When I and Michael went out of the restaurant, I thought, maybe it was nothing bad at all if some day we have something like that. Maybe, it will become the expression of the tender and complete love.

    When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.

    A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should protect. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you'll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don't want — an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don't let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when you're wrong — even if you've been wronged. Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit(承认) that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your friend's point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: consider friendship as an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养).

    As more and more schools rush to put digital devices（数码设备）in the hands of every student, many parents are becoming increasingly concerned about the quality of their children's education. The promise of increased student academic（学业上的）achievement through the use of technology hasn't produced any significant results in the past 20 years.

    Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles conducted a study in 2014 to determine if the social skills of elementary students were blocked by screen time. Two groups of sixth grade students were compared. One group was sent to an outdoor camp for one week with no screen time, while the control group live life as normal. After one week, the students at camp had made significant improvements over their peers（同龄人）. The good news is that when we limit access to screen time and give children the opportunity to interact face to face, they quickly become better at reading the emotional state of others. The bad news is that we have a generation of children that struggle with this basic emotional intelligence skill.

    Too much screen time has been linked to childhood obesity, sleep disorders, behavior problems, and academic challenges. But is there a difference between schoolwork and entertainment media?

    When students are using technology for academic work they are more likely to be communicating with peers, working cooperatively, and developing other important skills. However, all these are impossible when students watch entertainment media. They just sit and watch!

    Parents have right to be concerned about their children's screen time at school, but they should begin by discussing the use of digital media at home. Some parents are continuously engaged in their own devices, responding to every ring of their phones, receiving and sending messages. How can they expect their children to do better?

    Road trip

    Motorhome delivery offers great family holidays. For just $1 a day, you can hire a fully-equipped motorhome, which you deliver to a specific destination within some days and kilometers. You then hire another one to get home or take a bus or train. Your only other expense will be fuel and about $20 a day for parking fees. To learn more, visit apollocamper. com.

    Plan ahead

    For a comfortable break, flexibility with times, dates and places helps lower the cost. Find a few hotels you like, ask about their vacant rooms, then wait a few weeks and call again. If they still have rooms, you're at an advantage to ask for a better price. Lots of last-minute deals are online. Watif (watif. com. au) has deals on hotels that have dropped their prices so slow. You don't know where you're staying until it's booked, but anywhere with four or five stars has to be fairly good.

    Back to nature

    Wild camping appeals to nature lovers and costs nothing. This is forbidden on beaches and parks in most urban areas, but you can turn up in more distant area as long as nobody owns the land. You'll need to take everything with you and may need to shop on eBuy (ebuy. com. au). If you're a camping beginner, be aware of safety measures and get your questions answered on the Internet.

    Swap meet

    How about a home swap? For a $250 yearly joining cost, you can stay in someone's home in an international place of your choice while they or someone else stays in yours. Find out more at familylink.com.au.

WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO?

    Is it amazing that the WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO makes it fun for young children to save? With the help of Standard Bank's Kidz APP and the Big Five animal friends, teaching your children about managing their cash has never been more fun. Let the WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO show your little ones what it means to earn and save money as well as share in the enjoyment of spending their well－earned cash.

Elephant

    As your children use the mobile app to complete various actions—achieving savings goals, completing missions and achieving wishes—here various medals will be rewarded.

    Earned medals are displayed in the elephant habitat as well as locked medals still to be achieved.

Leopard

    Reward your kids with pocket money for completing 'missions': household chores, achievements, etc.

    You can create a mission for your child, or your child can request a new mission. Once created, it must be accepted. The mission needs to be completed by your child and approved by you before you can pay him or her.

Lion

    Help your children create and fulfil wishes. Wish cards and their savings progress can be tracked from your banking app.

    Once their savings goal is reached, lion will inform you of their achievement.

Buffalo

    Kids can request to withdraw cash or purchase airtime and data using their savings.

Rhino

    Rhino shows your child's latest account balance and transactions.

    Download the Standard Bank's Kidz APP from Apple App Store on the phone. Use the comment section to interact with other Standard Bank customers and bank consultants.