Second-hand screen time 二手屏幕時間

越來越多的研究表明，正如吸二手煙會導致癌癥、心臟病、肺病和其他疾病一樣，所謂的“二手屏幕時間”也會危害兒童的身心健康。

Many parents worry that their children's use of electronic devices will bring harm to their children， so they set strict limits on their use of electronic devices. But there's another device-related danger that parents may be completely ignoring—second-hand screen time. With second-hand screen time， kids are indirectly exposed to screens being used by someone else close to them.

Watching parents use their devices a lot from an early age can lead children to become addicted to them as they grow up， research suggests. Also， children are likely to show more acting-out behaviors when parents spend too much time on their devices. Often， this is the only way kids can get a parent's attention. Spending too much time on electronic devices， especially in the presence of a child， also sends the message that the device is more important than the child. This can lead to a breakdown in the parent-child relationship.

This does not mean that parents should not use electronic devices while their children are present. It does mean that parents need to set limits on their own screen time， just as they would for their children. For adults， devices are often a necessary part of their work， as well as personal tasks and activities. While cutting down on their screen time may not be easy， it is worth the effort.

Parents can now take some practical steps to get started. One of the simplest is setting up certain times and places where devices won't be used. For example， device-free mealtimes are important for many reasons， and this is an easy way to limit the use. Other ideas include not using devices in the restroom， when having a conversation with someone， or when playing games with the kids.

In addition， parents should not use “do as I say， not as I do” to send confusing messages to their children. We can tell kids that it's important to curb their device use， but if their experience with parents from infancy on is watching them use devices frequently， they are much more likely to follow that model. Therefore， parents should set the right example for their children.

Reading check

1. Who is exposed to second-hand screen time？

A. John is watching his parents surfing the Internet.

B. Eric is playing computer games alone in the room.

C. Mary is asleep while her dad is surfing the Internet.

D. Tom's father is teaching him how to surf the Internet.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about？

A. The forms of second-hand screen time.

B. The danger of second-hand screen time.

C. The features of second-hand screen time.

D. The development of second-hand screen time.

3. What does the underlined word “curb” mean？

A. Encourage.B. Prevent.

C. Ban. ? ? ?D. Control.

4. What principle does the last paragraph imply？

A. Like father， like son.

B. Parents are their children's first teachers.

C. It is better to teach by example than by speech.

D. He who does not listen to the old man loses at sight.

Language Study

Sentence for writing

While cutting down on their screen time may not be easy， it is worth the effort.

【信息提取】“While...， it be worth...”意為“盡管……，……是值得的”。

【句式仿寫】雖然做早操會花費高三學生的一些時間，但這種鍛煉是值得的。

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