In an English class, students are talking about a problem in groups.

	Tom：Parents worry about their children when there is no one at home. Through home cameras, parents can not only keep their kids from the danger, but also encourage them to develop good study habits.
	John：When I was in middle school, my mom set up a camera. I wanted to play computer games now and then. But after playing games, I couldn’t go back to my study immediately. So I think my mom helps me a lot in this special way.
	Lucy：Kids who are older shouldn’t be monitored(监控), but parents can limit (限制) the time their children spend on apps. It would be much better to help students learn how to make full use of their time. At the same time, parents also need to trust their children and give them enough freedom(自由).
	Mary：How to control themselves is one of the important skills kids will need in the future. But using cameras won’t help kids get the skill, and they will always find ways to avoid the cameras. What’s more, having a camera might also do bad for parents’ work, too.

It is important to be a good listener(倾听者). Annie is my best friend in my school. She does well in all subjects, but she has problems(问题).

Annie’s parents live with her. But they don’t have enough time to be with her. She doesn’t know who to talk to when she has some problems. She thinks her parents should chat with her every day, and listen to her problems, but they can’t. So she feels very sad.

Parents should listen more to their children, so they can know each other better, and find it easy to bridge(为……架起桥梁) the generation gap. Teachers should listen more to their students, and then they can meet their needs better. Students should listen more to their classmates and help and learn from each other.

In a word, being a good listener can help people have a good friendship(友谊).

Xiao Peng, a 12-year-old Chinese boy, has too many activities. His father takes him away from school sixteen afternoons a month and drives him across town to practice. “I do most of my homework in the car when we are driving to the practice centre, and I have to do the rest when I go home. I am too tired and I just want to sleep,” he said in a sleepy way.

“More and more kids become unhappy because they have too many activities to do,” said Mr. Wang, an expert of child development (发展). “41% of the children aged 9-13 said they felt worried most of the time, and more than 75% of them said that they wished they had more free time to play.”

“Over-scheduling (过量的课时安排) is a growing problem for Chinese families,” said Mr. Wang. It is not good for both kids and their parents. All these family members are always very busy, especially for dinner time. More families have dinner quickly or often have to eat fast food on their way to football practice or music lessons. We all know it is important for kids to learn how to relax. If they don’t learn that now, it will be more difficult to learn when they get older. Kids need time to relax. Parents should think about what is right for kids.