Is there a magic cutoff period when offspring become accountable for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become spectators (旁观者) in the lives of their children and shrug, "It' s their life," and feel nothing?

    When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my son's head. I was asked, "When do you stop worrying?" A nurse said, "When they get out of the accident stage." My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

    When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted (打断) the class, and was headed for a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher said, "Don't worry. They all go through this stage, and then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy them." My mother listened and said nothing.

    When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring and the cars to come home, the front door to open.

    My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted by my mother' s wan ( 淡淡的 ) smile and her occasional words, "You look pale. Are you all right? Call me the minute you get home."

    Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of human frailties and the fears of the unknown? Is concern a curse? Or is it a virtue that elevates us to the highest form of life?

    One of my children became quite irritable recently, saying to me, "Where were you? I've been calling for three days, and no one answered. I was worried!!!"

    I smiled a wan smile.

    What do you think of cats? Some people think very lovely. But not all people love cats. Compared with dogs, cats seem to be very lazy and unfriendly. Besides, cats are not known for acts of selflessness (无私). But maybe we're wrong about them. Don't believe it? Then meet Pippa, a very unusual cat.

    The black-and-white cat was left in a box outside a shop and taken by the British RSPCA to the Jansa family in Whitstable, Kent. They really loved her character (性格) and decided to adopt (收养) it，but they never guessed she'd become a lifesaver.

    Eight-year-old Mia Jansa had diabetes and had become good at testing her blood during the day, as well as having something to eat or drink to bring her blood sugar levels back. But the danger was at night. Mia could easily experience hypoglycemic (低血糖症的) situations when she was asleep, which could cause even death.

    Soon after she was adopted, Pippa went into Mia's bedroom in the middle of the night and woke her up. When the child tested her blood sugar levels, she found they were dangerously low. Ever since, Pippa always visits Mia at night. If she can't get her to wake up, she raises the alarm.

    “Pippa does this of her own accord,” says Mia's mother Laura. “We don't make a request for caring because we don't want to encourage wrong alarms. She gets plenty of hugs. It gives me peace of mind and I know someone else is keeping an eye on Mia.”

    Now the family is so happy that they've chosen to adopt it in the first place.

    Keeping the kids busy over the school holidays can be discouraging and cost parents a lot.  But we've found some cheap and cheerful ways to enjoy family time this Easter from free days out to fun-filled theme parks which won't cost us much. We've done the homework so you can get started on having a great time.

Theme Parks

    Save from 10% to 25% off the price of tickets for Legoland in Windor by booking in advance online. A family of four can save up to ₤45.90 on a one-day ticket, paying ₤137.70.

    Book seven days in advance and save ₤43 off the price of a family of four tickets for Drayton Manor Theme Park. Call 0844-472-1950 or book online and you'll pay ₤65 on the day.

    You can pick up a family of four ticket for a day at Alton Towers in Staffordshire for ₤43.80 off the day price.

    Save ₤16 off the price for a family trip to The Making of Harry Potter by buying a family ticket (two adults and two children) online. Family of four ₤101, compared to ₤117.

Activities

    Students looking for a cut-price trip to see the animals can save 15% off the ticket price at Bristol Zoo and pay ₤12.71 rather than the full adult price ₤14.53. Teens should show their identity as students.

Freebies(免费赠品)

    Let your kids discover what it's like to be an animal on the African Plain in the ocean. Or, they can learn to love leaf beetles（甲壳虫） or become a scientist for the day at the Natural History Museum in London.

    Earlier this month, 6-year-old Isaac went on vacation to Fort Walton, Florida, with his family. While they were there, his mother Garrett learned about LuLu, a restaurant that offers food to customers with food allergies(过敏).

    At LuLu, Isaac could eat a salad and a bowl of chicken soup with rice. "Isaac looked at me as if asking, 'Is this OK?' " Garrett said. Once his mom gave the OK, Isaac enjoyed for the first time the experience of eating at a restaurant. "That look on his face was like, 'This is the coolest thing I've ever done,' " Garrett added.

    Garrett and her family rarely eat out because of Isaac's food allergies. When they do, she cooks something for Isaac at home before they leave and brings it with her to the restaurant. "It's not fun and it feels unfair," she said.

    Their night at LuLu marked a celebration for Isaac. Garrett shared the moment on the restaurant's Facebook page. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving Isaac this wonderful experience," she wrote in her post.

    Barnett, the restaurant's manager, said, "When customers tell the staff that someone in their group has a food allergy, I assist with the order by passing it to the kitchen, ensuring it's cooked in a separate station and delivering the finished food to the guests. We have been improving this process over the past ten years since our allergy program was started."

    On Garrett's Facebook post, LuLu thanked Garrett for sharing her story. "Thank you for sharing your experience with us," the restaurant wrote in a comment, "We are excited to see your son so happy!"

    Garrett is hoping her post's popularity will convince other restaurants to be more considerate. "LuLu takes it seriously as we take it – nothing could make us happier than that," she said.

Discover Nature Schools Programmer

    Becoming Bears (Kindergarten—2 grade)

    By becoming baby bears, children learn from their "parent" to survive the seasons. Kids will find safety in the spring and learn kinds of food bears eat during the summer, and then create a cave for winter hibernation (冬眠). After learning the skills needed to survive, students will go out of the cave as an independent black bear able to care for themselves.(1.5—2 hours)

    Whose Clues? (3—5 grade)

    Kids will discover how plants and animals use their special structures to survive. Through outdoor study of plants and animals, kids will recognise their special structures and learn how they enable species to eat, avoid their enemies and survive. Using what they have learnt, kids will choose one species and tell how they survive in their living places.(3—4 hours)

    Winged Wonders (3—5 grade)

    Birds add colour and sound to our world and play an important ecological (生态的) role. Students will learn the basics of birds, understand the role birds play in food chains and go bird watching using field guides and telescopes. Students will do hands－on activities. Students will use tools to build bird feeders, allowing them to attract birds at home.(3—4 hours)

    Exploring Your Watershed (6—8 grade)

    We all depend on clean water. Examining how our actions shape the waterways around us. Go on a hike to see some of the first－hand challenging water quality problems in a city. Students will test the water quality to determine the health of an ecosystem.

    Each programme is taught for a class with at least 10 students.

    All programmes include plenty of time outdoor. So please prepare proper clothing, sunscreen and insect killers for children.

    To take part in a programme, please e－mail dcprogrammes@mdc.mo.gov.

Gene technology to benefit people

    Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it is a hot topic discussed by people.

    The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span(寿命) can be prolonged.

    Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families, with the English imperial(皇室) family being a good example, have hereditary(遗传的) diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about hereditary diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientist just need to find the wrong gene and correct it and a healthy child will be born.

    Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to manufacture human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning a sheep; therefore these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology.