From Monday to Friday, American students usually get up at seven. Then they wash their faces and have breakfast. They usually have eggs, bacon（培根）, bread, fruit and a glass of milk. After breakfast, they go to school on foot or by school bus. Some students ride bikes. They get to school at half past eight. Then they put their school bags in their lockers（寄存柜）and take only one book, a notebook（笔记本）and a pencil to each class. In middle school, students have classes for six hours. Their classes are usually English, Maths, Writing, History, Science, PE, Music and Art.

At noon students have lunch at school. They usually have meat, vegetables, fruit, bread and drinks. But most students like pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers better. Students don’t have a short sleep. They go back to have classes after lunch until three o’clock. Then they go home.

Students usually play or watch TV before supper. They have supper at six in the evening. The supper usually has soup, meat, vegetables, rice or pasta（意大利面食）. After supper they do their homework. Sometimes they play or talk with their parents.

On Saturdays they often go shopping, visit their grandparents or go to parks with their parents. And on Sundays they go to churches（教堂）with their parents in the morning and have a big dinner at one o’clock in the afternoon.

Family rules help children learn what is and isn’t OK in the family. Following them can help children learn to follow rules in other places, so it’s not good for you to make rules too late.

As parents, when you make family rules, talk about them with your children. They will be happy. Good family rules are easy for children to understand(理解). For example, “Go to bed before nine o’clock!” is good. “It’s important to get to bed early!” isn’t. And good family rules tell children what to do NOT what not to do. For example, “Keep your room tidy!” is good. “Don’t put your things everywhere!” isn’t.

People forget things easily, so it’s good to write down the rules and put them up(张贴) somewhere everyone can see.

There are times when family rules need to change(改变). For example, when your child gets older, you can make rules about helping with housework. Just like making rules, it’s good to let your children help make changes to the rules with you.

Are chores so important? There are more benefits（优点）than you can imagine. Children can not only get some skills, but they can also get a sense of satisfaction, which makes them confident. According to a 75-year Harvard（哈佛大学）study, children who often do chores will have more chances to be successful.

In fact, helping at home is a universal thing. Everyone in the family should play a part in doing chores. Here is the result of a study by Beijing Academy of Educaitonal Science in 2020.

Luckily, our country has realized the importance of labor education（劳动教育）. People’s Daily（人民日报）also gives us a chore chart for kids at different ages.

To help children get all-around development, we cannot overlook（忽视）the importance of labor. Just as President Xi Jinping said, “Do your own work and get ready to help others.”

Let’s start to take action now!