In the mid-1990s, Dr. Marshall Duke, a psychologist at Emory University, was asked to help explore ceremonies in American families. “There was a lot of research at the time into the falling apart of the family,” he said. “But we were more interested in what families could do to oppose those forces.” And they found that the single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative(口述故事).

Around that time, Dr. Duke’s wife, Sara, a psychologist who works with children with learning disabilities, noticed something about her students. “The ones who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges,” she said.

Her husband was interested, and along with a colleague, Robyn Fivush, set out to learn if Sara’s assumption was valid. They developed a measure called the “Do You Know?” scale(量表)that asked children to answer 20 questions. Examples included: Do you know where you grandparents grew up? Do you know where your mom and dad went to high school? Do you know an illness or something really terrible that happened in your family?

Dr. Duke and Dr. Fivush asked those questions of four dozen families in the summer of 2001, and   taped several of their dinner table conversations. They then compared children’s results to a series of psychological tests the children had taken, and reached a surprising conclusion. The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives and the higher their self-respect. Why does knowing where your grandmother went to school help a child become tougher and happier? “The answers have to do with a child’s sense of being part of a larger family,” Dr. Duke said.

So if you want a happier family, retell the story of your family, especially about the positive moments and how you braved the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the probability that your family will thrive ( 兴 旺 )for many generations to come. This is particularly important for children, whose identity tends to get locked in during adolescence.

Indoor plants are a beautiful way to brighten up your home, especially in the gray months of winter. But there can be a dark side to houseplants if you have children or if children visit your home. I’s important that you know which plants are poisonous to them.

Gardening expert Jessica Damiano often points out houseplants in friends’ homes should be kept out of children’s mouths. “I don’t mind ruining friends’ hopes of a beautiful indoor jungle if it means preventing harm,” Damiano said.

America’s Poison Centers in Arlington, Virginia get an average of 33,000 calls a year from people whose kids put different plants in their mouths. The cases usually involve children under 3 because they would explore their environment and put everything in their mouths. Most accidental exposures aren’t serious. But in some cases a child’s breathing, skin and eyes can be badly harmed.

Damiano recently visited her cousin’s home and saw a dieffenbachia plant in the kitchen. Her cousin told her that her young son, who had just begun crawling (爬), had shown interest in the leaves. Damiano had to explain to her cousin that eating a small amount of the plant’s stem (茎) can cause temporary but severe pain. The plant parts can cause throat and mouth swelling. The plant’s sap (树液) can cause nose, skin and eye pain. Other plants that can cause similar reactions include: caladium, flamingo flower, Swiss cheese plant, peace lily and pothos.

Damiano said that parents should teach their young children not to put non-food plant parts into their mouths. Besides, she urges parents to research whether the plants in their homes are safe to grow around children. She also suggests learning the official botanical names of houseplants so that they’re able to provide that information quickly to a poison control expert, if needed.

Not all houseplants are problematic, of course. Spider plants are nontoxic (无毒的) and are also among the easiest indoor plants to grow. African violets, Boston ferns and Christmas cactus are other safe choices.

Albert Einsrein is known as the father of modern physics, but he may not be the man your kids should aspire(有志) to be. Instead, the person we should be looking up to is the productive Thomas Alva Edison.

Researchers at Penn State and William Paterson universities came to that conclusion after conducting a series of studies with college students and finding that students were more motivated by the hard-working Edison type than Einstein’s “genius is my birthright” model.

“There’s a misleading message out there that says you have to be a genius in order to be a scientist,” says study co-author Danfei Hu at Penn State, who thinks this may be a big cause of people not choosing science and missing, out on a great career. “Struggling is a normal part of doing science and exceptional talent is not the only precondition for succeeding in science! It's important we help spread this message in science education.” she continues.

In one study conducted by Hu and Janet N. Ahn of William Paterson University, participants read the same story--about the typical difficulty faced by a scientist--with half told the hero of the story was Einstein and the other half told it was Edison. It may have been the same story, but knowing it involved Einstein prompted students to assume he overpowered his struggles using his giant brain. When told Edison was the hero, students more with the idea that he outworked his problems. Indeed, the latter students were more motivated to complete a series of math problems.       

Einstein’s success is commonly linked to extraordinary talent while Edison’s is usually linked to his persistence and diligence. That’s not to say Einstein put little effort into revolutionizing science. He worked as hard as anyone. But the popular understanding remains that his brain--something that can’t be “emulated”--was like no other. So why bother trying to follow in his footsteps? Edison, however, a man with a huge number of successes as well as plenty of failures, but finally someone who made the world a better place, is the kind of man we can all aspire to be.