Young children from poor families are more likely to consume junk food and fizzy drinks(汽水) than their richer companions. A study of 1,800 four- and five-year-olds found more than half of those from poor backgrounds drank at least one a week, compared to just four in ten oofy kids. They also drank less milk and consumed more fruit juice which is also linked to child obesity (肥胖) caused by high sugar intake(摄取量).

    The phenomenon also relates to children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a TV or playing computer games—whatever their social circumstances. A companion study also found children from poor families were more likely to eat chips, sweets and chocolate. Professor Kate Storey said, “when you are looking at that age group, and such a large percentage of very young kids in the study are consuming a large amount of soda(苏打汽水)，it is quite concerning. ”

    The researchers carried out the study by surveying the parents of their participants to find out their dietary habits. Professor Storey said, “If you are drinking a lot of soda and fruit juice, they can displace(取代)consumption of water and milk, which are important not just for ending thirst, but for developing healthy bones and teeth, and health and wellness in general.”

    Co-researcher Dr John Spence said, “Dietary behavior and intake patterns are influenced heavily by what happens in the first few years with children, and they maintain those patterns throughout childhood and into adolescence(青少年时期).” In addition to basic health education, this study identifies a need in how we are dealing with poverty and recognizing there is more to poverty than simply the number of dollars people have.

    Professor Storey said that shows how education can make a difference and lead to healthier eating habits, regardless of what is happening at home. “Many families live in places that might not be very healthy for them and, as a result, they make unhealthy food choices. You can start making a difference in different places. It calls for action in multiple settings, schools and communities, for example. That light-bulb moment can happen in a variety of places,” Professor Storey added.

    When I spent the summer with my grandmother, she always set me down to the general store with a list. Behind the counter was a lady like no one I'd ever seen.

    “Excuse me,” I said. She looked up and said, “I'm Miss Bee.”

    “I need to get these.” I said, holding up my list. “So? Go get them. ” Miss Bee pointed to a sign. “There's no one here except you and me and I'm not your servant, so get yourself a basket from that pile.”

    I visited Miss Bee twice a week that summer. Sometimes she shortchanged me. Other times she overcharged. Going to the store was like going into battle. All summer long she found ways to trick me. No sooner had I learned how to pronounce “bicarbonate of soda” and memorized its location on the shelves than she made me hunt for it all over again. But by summer's end the shopping trip that had once taken me an hour was done in 15 minutes. The morning I was to return home, I stopped in to get some run.

    “All right, little girl,” she said. “What did you learn this summer?” “That you're a meanie!” I replied. Miss Bee just laughed and said, “I know what you think of me. Well, I don't care! My job is to teach every child I meet life lessons. When you get older you'll be glad!” Glad I met Miss Bee? Ha! The idea was absurd.

    Until one day my daughter came to me with homework troubles. “It's too hard,” she said. “Could you finish my math problems for me?”

    “If I do it for you, how will you ever learn to do it yourself?” I said. Suddenly, I was back at that general store where I had learned the hard way to add up my bill by myself. Had I ever been overcharged since?

    Choosing a vacation place your kids would love is quite a headache. Here are some highly preferred fun vacation places for you, which would make sure your entire family has fun together.

    Hersheypark

    Hersheypark, the “Chocolate Town” of USA, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is now a main theme park with sixty rides. The amazing water rides, family rides, live concerts and shows make Hersheypark a perfect place for the young children. It also has a water park known as the “The Boardwalk at Hersheypark” and a zoo.

    Old Orchard Beach in Saco, Maine

    The Old Orchard beach, where there is the amazing sand, water, rides, some fried food, and great fun games, can keep your kids busy and happy. Besides, there are downtown shops with great beach food.

    Snowbird Resort in Snowbird, Utah

    As a great place for those who enjoy the snow, Snowbird Resort allows families to enjoy many activities in the winter months, such as snowboarding and ice skating. The live music concerts are held year round.

    Hilton Waikoloa Village in Waikoloa, Hawaii

    This is actually a fun vacation place when you are looking out for a getaway with your kids. Hilton Waikoloa Village is the place to go if you would like to have your children enter for Camp Menehune. Looking for the chance to feed birds is an exciting experience. However, an activity that your kids would enjoy most is the communication with dolphins.

    A bright yellow “M” tells you that it's a McDonald's restaurant; we also associate the cheerful theme tune “I'm Lovin' It” with the famous US fast food.

A brand's music has a similar effect on its customers as its logo. “It appeals directly to the heart, where consumers' decisions are really made,” wrote Marketing Week.

This is probably why companies from around the world have recently focused more on building a “sonic (声音的) identity”.

    An example is the software company Tencent QQ. Since 2014, this Chinese company has been trying to trademark (申请商标权) its “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound. The trademark was finally approved on Nov 15, which means that Tencent's “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound is now protected by law and can only be used by QQ.

    Sound and music can also help tell stories. In Game of Thrones (《权力的游戏》) there are so many characters that it is difficult to memorize them all. So, they wrote melodies (旋律) specific to each family. The result is that characters do not only look familiar, but sound familiar too.

    “I think a huge reason why sound inspires action is that, on an unconscious level, we are always listening,” Lauren Nagel, executive creative director at Pandora Media, told GeoMarketing. “You can close your eyes, but you can't shut your ears.”

    Forty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere acquaintance. I have forgotten the name of an old lady who was a customer on my paper route. Yet it seems like just yesterday that she taught me a lesson in forgiveness.

    On a Saturday afternoon, a friend and I were throwing rocks onto the roof of the old lady's house. The object of our play was to observe how the rocks changed to missiles （导弹）as they rolled to the roof's edge and shot out into the yard like comets （彗星）falling from the sky. I found myself a perfectly smooth rock and sent it for a ride. However, it slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight for a small window. At the sound of crashed glass, we knew we were in trouble and ran away.

    A few days later, when I was sure that I hadn't been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune. She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the paper, but I was no longer able to act comfortably in her presence. I made up my mind to save my paper delivery money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I calculated would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope with a note, and put the envelope through the letter slot in her door.

    The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return the warm smile that I was receiving from her. She thanked me for the paper and said, “Here, I have something for you.” It was a bag of cookies. I thanked her and began to eat the cookies as I continued my route.

    After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was surprised. Inside were the seven dollars and a short note that said, “I'm proud of you.”

    We talk continuously about how to make children more "resilient(有恢复力的)", but whatever were doing, it's not working. Rates of anxiety disorders and depression are rising rapidly among teenagers. What are we doing wrong?

    Nassim Taleb invented the word "antifragile" and used it to describe a small but very important class of systems that gain from shocks, challenges, and disorder. The immune system is one of them: it requires exposure to certain kinds of bacteria and potential allergens(过敏源)in childhood in order to develop to its full ability.

    Children's social and emotional abilities are as antifragile as their immune systems. If we overprotect kids and keep them "safe" from unpleasant social situations and negative emotions we deprive(剥夺)them of the challenges and opportunities for skill-building they need to grow strong. Such children are likely to suffer more when exposed later to other unpleasant but ordinary life events, such as teasing and social rejection.

    It's not the kids fault. In the UK, as in the US, parents became much more fearful in the 1980s and 1990s as cable TV and later the Internet exposed everyone, more and more, to those rare occurrences of crimes and accidents that now occur less and less, Outdoor play and independent mobility went down; screen time and adult-monitored activities went up.

    Yet free play in which kids work out their own rules of engagement, take small risks, and learn to master small dangers turns out to be vital for the development of adult social and even physical competence, Depriving them of free play prevents their social-emotional growth. Norwegian play researchers Ellen Sandseter and Leif Kennair warned: "We may observe an increased anxiety or mental disorders in society if children are forbidden from participating in age adequate risky play."

    They wrote those words in 2011. Over the following few years, their prediction came true. Kids born after 1994 are suffering from much higher rates of anxiety disorders and depression than the previous generation did. Besides, there is also a rise in the rate at which teenage girls are admitted to hospital for deliberately harming themselves.

    What can we do to change these trends? How can we raise kids strong enough to handle the ordinary and extraordinary challenges of life? We can't guarantee that giving primary school children more independence today will bring down the rate of teenage suicide tomorrow. The links between childhood overprotection and teenage mental illness are suggestive but not clear-cut. Yet there are good reasons to suspect that by depriving our naturally antifragile kids of the wide range of experiences they need to become strong, we are systematically preventing their growth. We should let go-and let them grow.