My 20-year-old daughter, Ann, living in Philadelphia, sent me a message the other day. “I need socks and shampoo.” She was actually asking me to prepare those things for her, but I thought she was playing a cell phone game. I decide not to be a helicopter (直升机) mother, because experience as a mother and professor has taught me how badly that can result. Instead, I prefer a more hands-off way. From the time Ann turned 16, I don’t want to know her work and life schedule any longer.

But that’s not what I see at Drexel University where I teach. Most of my students talk to their parents three times a day or more. One student’s mother called her son because she didn’t hear from him for a few days. The son was in the library so he whispered “hello”. The mother doubted that he was drinking, and insisted on asking him to take a picture of himself. Holding a newspaper with that day’s date, the son had to take a photo of himself and sent it to his mother in order to prove that he wasn’t telling a lie.

I always think that my students should depend on themselves. I tell them that I will not check whether they miss classes and finish homework or not, because they are independent thinkers and they should take responsibility for their own choices. But their parents don’t treat them like me. I know a mother. She puts her eyes on her son too much. She hopes he will walk by the camera so that she can know what he is doing. Another mother checks her son’s credit card daily. However, I never do that. My daughters only come to me with important things when they need my decision. I think that’s because I give them space.

Many parents try to find if their kids are hiding from them. But we have to learn to respect boundaries (界限), even when technology is so powerful now. So I am going to do my best not to be a helicopter parent.

According to CCTV，China has 8 million blind people，but only 200 guide dogs are in service. 【小题1】 It makes guide dogs even fewer than the giant pandas.

The dogs﹣mostly Golden Retrievers（金毛）and Labradors（拉布拉多）， are chosen for their gentle，friendly nature. 【小题2】 Then they’ll return to the center for another year of professional training. 【小题3】 Along the way，about 60% of the dogs will be disqualifies（不合格的）and become pet dogs.

【小题4】 In 2020，the Dalian government started to support the center with 60，000 yuan for each guide dog it trains，but each animal costs about 200，000 yuan to train. 【小题5】 It is hoped that more training centers can be built in the future and public services can be friendlier to the blind.

Many teenagers feel that the most important in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas.

It is very important for teenagers to have one friend or a group of friends. Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone. This communication (交流) is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something. These things are difficult to say to their family members.

However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends.