It is not only praise or punishment that determines a child's level of confidence. There are some other important ways we shape our kids—particularly by giving instructions and commands in a negative or positive choice of words. For example, we can say to a child “Don't run into traffic!” or “Stay on the footpath close to me.” In using the latter, you will be helping your kids to think and act positively, and to feel competent in a wide range of situations, because they know what to do, and aren't scaring themselves about what not to do.

    Why does such a small thing make a difference? It is all in the way the human mind works. What we think, we automatically rehearse. For example, if someone offered you a million dollars not to think of a blue monkey for two minutes, you wouldn't be able to do it. When a child is told “Don't fall off the tree,” he will think of two things: “don't” and “fall off the tree”. That is, he will automatically create the picture of falling off the tree in his mind. A child who is vividly imagining falling off the tree is much more likely to fall off. So it is far better to use “Hold on to the tree carefully.”

    Clear, positive instructions help kids to understand the right way to do things. Kids do not always know how to be safe, or how to react to the warning of the danger in negative words. So parents should make their commands positive. “Sam, hold on firm to the side of the boat” is much more useful than “Don't you dare to fall out of the boat?” or worse still “How do you think I'll feel if you drown?” The changes are small but difference is obvious.

    Children learn how to guide and organize themselves from the way we guide them with our words, so it pays to be positive.

    When you get in your car, you reach for it. When you're at work, you take a break to have a moment alone with it. When you get into a lift, you play with it.

    Cigarettes? Cup of coffee? No, it's the third most addictive（使人上瘾的） thing in modern life, the cell phone. And experts say it is becoming more difficult for many people to curb their wishes to hug it more tightly than most of their personal relationships.

    With its shiny surface, its smooth and satisfying touch, the cell phone connects us to the world even as it disconnects us from people three feet away. It affects us in ways its inventors in the late 1940s never imagined.

    Dr. Chris Knippers, an expert at the Betty Ford Center in Southern California, reports that the overuse of cell phones has become a social problem not much different from other harmful addictions: a barrier to one-on-one personal contact, and an escape from reality.

    Sounds extreme, but we've all witnessed the evidence: the person at a restaurant who talks on the phone through an entire meal, ignoring his kids around the table; the woman who talks on the phone in the car, ignoring her husband; the teen who texts messages all the way home from school, avoiding contact with kids all around him. Is it just rude, or is it a kind of unhealthiness? And pardon me, but how is this improving the quality of life?

    Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, he points to a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one to discuss their most important personal business with. Despite the growing use of phones, e-mail and instant messaging, in other words, Williams says studies show that we don't have as many friends as our parents. “Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances(熟人) through the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends,” he says.

    If the cell phone has truly had these effects, it's because it has become very widespread. In 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use. Today, almost 300 million Americans carry them. The number of cell phones is far more than that of wired phones in the United States.

    BRAD GARRETT'S COMEDY CLUB

    Category: Comedy

Best known for his role on the Emmy award-winning sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett returns to his Vegas roots with his comedy club at the MGM Grand. It is a good place to check out when you need a break from work.

Prices from: $56.40 and up

    Age restriction: Must be 21 years of age or older

    Show Length: 115 minutes

    MAC KING COMEDY MAGIC SHOW

    Category: Comedy, Magic

Mac King Comedy Magic Show is different every afternoon, with lots of audience participation. He is willing to make fun of himself instead of his guests in order to make everyone feel welcome and entertained. The afternoon is kid-friendly from start to finish. Still, whether you're eight or 80, you won't be able to figure out King's secrets.

    Prices from: $40.90 and up

    Age restriction: No age restriction

    Show Length: 90 minutes

    THE MENTALIST, GERRY MCCAMBRIDGE

    Category: Comedy, Magic

Using his skills as a “mentalist”, Gerry McCambridge shocks the crowds as he uses his abilities to predict just what audience members will do next. Anyone who has seen the show has walked away in disbelief, amazed by his unusual power.

    Prices from: $34.99 and up

    Age restriction: Under 13 will not be admitted into the theater

    Show Length: 75 minutes

    ROCK OF AGES

    Category: Plays & Musicals

    The cheerful Rock of Ages brings audiences back to the times of big hair and even bigger bands with 28 popular rock songs from the 80s including “Every Rose Has Its Thom,” “I Wanna Know What Love Is,” “Here I Go Again,” and more.

    Rock of Ages has been nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. It also received a Drama League nomination for Distinguished Production for a Musical.

    Prices from: $74.00 and up

    Age restriction: Must be 15 years of age or older

    Show Length: 125 minutes

    Long bus rides are like television shows.They have a beginning，a middle，and an end with commercials(广告) thrown in every three or four minutes.The commercials are unavoidable.They happen whether you want them or not.Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window.“Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.” “Drink Good Wet Root Beer.” “Fill up with Pacific Gas.” Only if you sleep，which is equal to turning the television set off，are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It！Buy It Now！”

    The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting，even if you've traveled that way before.Usually some things have changed—new houses，new buildings，sometimes even a new road.The bus driver has a style of driving and it's fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so.If the driver is particularly reckless (鲁莽的) or daring，the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story.Will the driver pass the truck in time？Will the driver move into the right or the left hand lane？After a while，of course，the excitement dies down.Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride.Food always makes bus rides more interesting.But you've got to be careful of what kind of food you eat.Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops.

    The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning.You know it will soon be over and there's a kind of expectation and excitement in that.The seat，of course，has become harder as the hours have passed.By now you've sat with your legs crossed，with your hands in your lap，with your hands on the armrest or even with your hands crossed behind your head.The end comes just at the right time.There are just no more ways to sit.

    Are you so sure your mistakes are just mistakes? Or could they be building blocks to a success beyond any you imagined?

    When my friend Dorothy goes home to visit her family each Thanksgiving, her mother serves the traditional “mistake salad”. The dish was born many years ago. Dorothy explains, when mother was using a cookbook to make a salad. In the process, mother accidentally included half the salad ingredients(原料)from a recipe(食谱)on the left side of the open cookbook, and half the ingredients from a different salad recipe on the opposite page. Everyone enjoyed the salad so much that she continue to serve it every year. So it was really not a mistake at all.

    Then there was the fellow named Alfred, who invented dynamite(炸药). When Alfred's brother died, the city newspaper confused the two and printed an abituary(讣告)saying that the dead's most notable act was the creation of bombs. Surprised to consider that his name would forever be connected with destruction, Alfred sought to leave a more positive fame to humanity. So he set a prize for people who contributed to world peace. Now the Nobel Prize, established by Alfred Nobel, is the most respected award in the world.

    Everything is part of something bigger, and mistakes are no exception. In his brilliant book Illusions, Richard Bach explains that every problem comes to you with a gift. If you focus only on what went wrong, you miss the gift. If you are willing to look deeper and ask for the bright, the problem will disappear. You are left only with the learning, and you go forward on your path.

    Homestay in Sydney, Australia

    Linda:

    Our big home is in Sydney, about 300 meters from Sydney University and 450 meters from the train station. The train ride is about 30 minutes to the CBD. Now we only have a small bedroom for a female student.

    The cost is $260 per week, which includes all meals when at home and laundering(洗烫) of clothes.

    E-mail: markalarms @optusnet. com.au

    John:

    I have a lovely single room for homestay (male, non-smokers only). The apartment is located across the road from a bus station. A sports field is only a two-minute walk away.

    The room is for both short and long stays. The cost is $220 per week, including breakfast and lunch on weekdays. There is no washing machine at home. Do your own laundry in the apartment block's facilities.

    E-mail: ainsley gilkes@yahoo.com.au

    Eric:

    I live in the northern suburbs of Sydney--quiet for studying and relaxing, yet close to Sydney University & NCELTR & SIBT. The subway station is nearby.

    All facilities of the house including a living room with a TV can be used. Owners are very open and friendly, and treat students as part of the family.

    The prices include all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and cleaning. The fee is $300 per week. E-mail: mineanny@hotmail.com

Rose:

    Hi, everyone! I have one room for homestay (girl students only) in a house which is very close to Sydney University (SIBT) & WSU in the northern district of Sydney. There is a bus station across the road. Travel time to the centre of the city is 40 minutes by train. We only have one homestay at a time. Therefore, our family can take good care of you. The fee is $230 per week. We are looking forward to having you in our home.

    E-mail: cliqi9239@hotmail com