节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-13
难易度:High
关键字:lofty, literacy, abstract, charitable, savvy, psychotherapist
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to study English with us.
We appreciate that.
My name is Steve.
"But Mom, all my friends have one!" Have you ever heard this or said this?
It's a simple sentence that illustrates the pressure both kids and parents are
under to get more stuff.
Kids feel the pressure from their friends.
And parents, though they might agree buying their children everything they want
is not a good idea, they still feel the pressure to give in to their kid's
request.
It's just too strong.
So what's a parent to do?
Well, at the very least, our author suggests you can make it a teachable moment.
Let's find out how in this month's FINANCE feature starting on page 28.
(Music).
A Lesson in Finance is a Great Gift for Kids.
Teach your child to spend money wisely.
If your child is asking for Ugg boots, a pricey hot toy or a smartphone for the
holidays, it's time for a teachable moment.
Even if your kid has less lofty tastes, the holidays are still a great time to
hammer home some important financial lessons.
"Parents want kids to have everything they want, but if they're not teaching
limit-setting, it's doing them a terrible disservice," says money coach Olivia
Mellan.
Financial literacy expert Susan Beacham says parents have to lead by example.
If they buy gifts for their kids that stretch their own budgets, they're only
hurting their families when the bills cause financial hardship and stress in
January.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
My name is Ryan.
Friends, it is almost Christmas.
I'm sure many of you are very excited about getting some gifts.
But I'm sure maybe your parents or family members aren't as excited about
spending all the money.
That's right.
We are 12 days from Christmas, which means we're trying to make sure we have all
of our gifts bought and ready.
But you need to be smart this holiday season, and make sure you're smart with
your money.
But Ryan, even more than that, it's important at the holidays to teach kids to
be good with their money.
That's right.
Friends, maybe it's more important to get a different kind of gift this year.
Perhaps a lesson in finance might be a better gift.
That's right.
Now a lesson in finance is a great gift for kids.
We're talking about teaching your child to spend their money wisely, to use
their money correctly.
Now Kaylah, I don't know about you, but this doesn't sound like that great of a
gift to me.
I know. It doesn't sound fun like a toy or exciting like getting money.
But it's important to know because this is a skill that will help your children
for the rest of their lives.
OK. So parents, we're talking to you, and we're going to give you some advice of
how you can actually help your kids.
OK. We're going to start with a scenario here.
Now if your child is asking for Ugg boots, a pricey hot toy or a smartphone for
the holidays, it's time for a teachable moment.
Now these three items listed here would be expensive gifts that maybe your child
wants.
But this could be a good teachable moment.
That's right.
Something that is teachable means you are able to teach something.
And so we want to teach something to your kids if they're wanting something
that's pricey and expensive.
Now to say to have a teachable moment means you need to take this chance to give
your child information to help them learn something.
That's right.
If your child wants a smartphone, maybe that's a little too expensive for
someone really young.
Maybe they don't really need it, so you can teach them a lesson.
Now even if your kids have less lofty tastes, the holidays are still a great
time to hammer home some important financial lessons.
So maybe your child doesn't have these lofty tastes.
What does "lofty" mean?
OK. "Lofty" means very high.
So if they have high tastes, that means they want something really big or really
expensive.
And here "taste" does not refer to food.
Here "taste" is referring to what they want, something they're interested in.
But maybe they don't have lofty tastes, but it's still a really good opportunity
to - here's a strange phrase - "hammer home" something.
Right.
Hammer home, this is an idiom that simply means to really give someone a really
good idea and make it stick, make it really strong.
So we use the word "hammer" to really push it onto them so they get the idea.
That's right.
To make it very easy to understand and hard to forget. OK.
So we have a quote here.
It says parents want kids to have everything - of course - everything that they
want.
But you know, if... if you're... if you're not... you're taking... you're
missing opportunities here.
And we have a phrase here that discusses that.
Yes. It's important to teach your children limit-settings.
That means you set limits, and they know when they should stop spending money.
Now we do have some more information on the sentence, so let's go visit Liz with
Grammar on the Go.
Hi there, friends.
I hope you're doing well today.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
We're talking about teaching children how to spend money wisely.
And the writer says that if we don't teach kids how to set limits, then "it's
doing them a terrible disservice." That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus today is on the phrase, to do a disservice.
It's a very fancy way of saying: to harm or to hurt someone.
So in the case of today's sentence, the writer is saying that if we don't teach
kids how to set limits when it comes to spending money, then we're actually
harming our kids.
This phrase, to do a disservice, is most often used in formal situations.
For example: You think you're protecting John by not telling him the truth, but
in reality, you're doing him a disservice.
Or: Frank did himself a huge disservice when he shared too much personal
information during his job interview.
Friends, if you'd like to see some more example sentences, you'll find them in
today's Grammar Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
That's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
So friends, you don't want to do your child a terrible disservice.
And if you don't teach them this limit-setting, our coach here, our money coach
Olivia Mellan says you're doing them that disservice.
So make sure you're teaching.
Yes. It is a terrible disservice.
It's an awful disservice.
Now financial literacy expert Susan Beacham says parents have to lead by
example.
OK. Now "literacy" refers to the ability to read, write, and to have knowledge
about a certain subject.
So in this case, since we're talking about financial literacy, we're talking
about understanding how to use your money.
That's right.
And so it's important, parents, to lead by example.
That means you are doing what you want someone else to do.
That's right.
Now if you're buying gifts for your kids that are just stretching your own
budgets,
then you're only hurting... your families when the bills cause financial
hardship and stress in January.
So make sure you're leading by example.
Stick to your budget.
Don't stretch it.
That's right. When you stretch a budget, that means you are spending as much as
you can, and it can be difficult.
And actually stretching your budget can even mean spending over.
So be careful.
You don't want hardships, which means difficulties and stress, in January when
the bills finally come through.
And remember, your kids are learning from your examples, so don't teach them the
wrong thing.
Now parents, we have some more advice coming up for you after we watch the skit.
Dad, here's my list.
Let's see.
Boots.
Pricey hot toys.
And a smartphone?
Yep. I want these things for Christmas.
Oh. There's more on the bottom.
It's time for a teachable moment.
A teachable moment?
Oh, no.
Let me hammer home an important financial lesson.
I was afraid of that.
Son, I want you to have everything you want.
You do? Hooray!
But I must teach you to set limits.
If not, I would be doing you a terrible disservice.
We stretch our budget and buy expensive gifts, it will hurt our family.
It will?
Yes. When the bills come, they will bring hardship and stress.
But Dad, I want all these things!
Son, money is abstract.
You're too young to understand.
I understand.
I'm not getting what I want.
Right.
But I'm going to give you something even better.
What?
An allowance.
Here's one dollar.
What can I buy with one dollar?
Oh, but don't spend it all.
Divide it.
Divide it?
Yes. Divide it into four parts.
Save some.
Invest some.
Give some.
And spend some.
Thanks,Dad.