full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Jennifer Senior: For parents, happiness is a very high bar
Unscramble the Blue Letters
Once kids stopped wriknog, the enooiccms of parenting changed. Kids became, in the words of one brilliant if totally ruthless sociologist, "economically worthless but emotionally priceless." Rather than them working for us, we began to work for them, because within only a mttear of decades it became clear: if we wtnead our kids to succeed, school was not enough. Today, extracurricular activities are a kid's new work, but that's work for us too, because we are the ones dviinrg them to soccer practice. mvsiase piles of homework are a kid's new work, but that's also work for us, because we have to check it. About three yares ago, a Texas wmaon told something to me that totally broke my heart. She said, almost casually, "Homework is the new dinner." The mdidle class now pours all of its time and energy and resources into its kids, even though the middle class has less and less of those things to give. Mothers now spend more time with their children than they did in 1965, when most women were not even in the workforce.
Open Cloze
Once kids stopped _______, the _________ of parenting changed. Kids became, in the words of one brilliant if totally ruthless sociologist, "economically worthless but emotionally priceless." Rather than them working for us, we began to work for them, because within only a ______ of decades it became clear: if we ______ our kids to succeed, school was not enough. Today, extracurricular activities are a kid's new work, but that's work for us too, because we are the ones _______ them to soccer practice. _______ piles of homework are a kid's new work, but that's also work for us, because we have to check it. About three _____ ago, a Texas _____ told something to me that totally broke my heart. She said, almost casually, "Homework is the new dinner." The ______ class now pours all of its time and energy and resources into its kids, even though the middle class has less and less of those things to give. Mothers now spend more time with their children than they did in 1965, when most women were not even in the workforce.
Solution
- working
- wanted
- middle
- economics
- years
- massive
- matter
- driving
- woman
Original Text
Once kids stopped working, the economics of parenting changed. Kids became, in the words of one brilliant if totally ruthless sociologist, "economically worthless but emotionally priceless." Rather than them working for us, we began to work for them, because within only a matter of decades it became clear: if we wanted our kids to succeed, school was not enough. Today, extracurricular activities are a kid's new work, but that's work for us too, because we are the ones driving them to soccer practice. Massive piles of homework are a kid's new work, but that's also work for us, because we have to check it. About three years ago, a Texas woman told something to me that totally broke my heart. She said, almost casually, "Homework is the new dinner." The middle class now pours all of its time and energy and resources into its kids, even though the middle class has less and less of those things to give. Mothers now spend more time with their children than they did in 1965, when most women were not even in the workforce.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
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financially savvy |
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middle class |
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unfair burden |
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Important Words
- activities
- began
- brilliant
- broke
- casually
- changed
- check
- children
- class
- decades
- dinner
- driving
- economics
- emotionally
- energy
- extracurricular
- give
- heart
- homework
- kids
- massive
- matter
- middle
- mothers
- parenting
- piles
- pours
- practice
- priceless
- resources
- ruthless
- school
- soccer
- sociologist
- spend
- stopped
- succeed
- texas
- time
- today
- told
- totally
- wanted
- woman
- women
- words
- work
- workforce
- working
- worthless
- years