If I had a kid...
如果我有孩子

Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Hey Mark, Children's Day is coming again this Friday.
京晶：嗨，马克，儿童节又快到了，这周五呢。
Mark: Oh yeah, it'll be June 1st at the end of this week. Wow, May just flew by.
马克：是的呢，六月一号，这周末。哇哦，五月飞逝如电。
Jingjing: It sure did. About children, are you thinking of having your own kids, now that you're married?
京晶：可不是吗。说到孩子，既然你已经结婚了，想过要自己的孩子吗？
Mark: Well, sure. That's always been the plan. My wife and I are getting prepared for that, actually. We hope to have a kid in another year or two.
马克：当然了。一直有这计划。我太太和我已经开始在准备了。事实上，我们希望，再过一两年就生。
Jingjing: Is there anything you'd do differently, compared to your parents?
京晶：和你的父母相比，你作为家长会做得有些什么不同吗？
Mark: My wife and I have talked about that a lot. Both of us were raised in a loving home. We were provided for but not spoiled.
马克：我和我太太聊过很多。我们都是在一个充满爱与关怀的环境中长大的，成长中得到了该得到的，但又没被宠坏。
Jingjing: You're one of the lucky ones.
京晶：你们真是幸运。
Mark: You are too, I'm pretty sure.
马克：你也一样吧，我很肯定。
Jingjing: You better believe it. My parents treated me like a princess. Also, they gave me a lot of independence, more than most of my friends got.
京晶：你最好相信，我爸妈把我当公主养。同时他们给予了我很多的独立和自由，比我朋友们得到的多得多。
Mark: Mine too. It's good to let a kid make some mistakes and learn from the consequences.
马克：我也是。让孩子去犯点错误，从后果中学习（长教训）是很好的。
Jingjing: True, that. Sometimes kids react really badly when their parents don't let them do something.
京晶：正解。有时候当父母阻止孩子做一件事的时候，他们会做出不好的回应。
Mark: Plus they learn nothing from it, except that their parents are bossy.
马克：而且他们什么也学不到，除了发现父母是如此的专横。
Jingjing: Ha ha. Well, I'm sure parenting is much more difficult than it looks.
京晶：哈哈。我相信做父母这事一定比表面看着难许多。
Mark: Too right! Most of the parenting principles we read about are much easier said than done.
马克：太对了！大多数我们读过的那些养育道理都是说得容易做着难啊！
Jingjing: Yep. It takes a lifetime to build good parenting habits.
京晶：是啊。建立一个好的养育习惯需要花费一生的时间。

New words: 习语短语

a loving home 一种温暖的家庭氛围，父母让孩子感觉到被重视和关爱
a home in which parents make the child feel valuable and warm
one of the lucky ones 幸运儿 （没有大多数人有的问题）
someone who doesn't have the problems facing most people
independence 独立，自由，自主性选择
free time and chances to choose for oneself
consequences 后果
the results of something you've done
parenting principles 养育原则，育儿经
rules parents make for themselves about how to raise a healthy and happy child

Dialogue 2

Mark: Hi again, Jingjing.
马克：嗨，京晶
Jingjing: We were talking about childhood and parenting last time. Were you a naughty kid?
京晶：上次我们聊了童年和做父母的事，你小时候淘气吗？
Mark: I was. But my parents gave me plenty of vitamin N.
马克：淘呢。但我父母给了我足够多的维他命N
Jingjing: Come again? What's that?
京晶：再说一遍？那是什么？
Mark: It's saying "no" to your kid, so they don't get spoiled.
马克：就是对孩子说“不”，这样他们就不会被宠坏。
Jingjing: That's a good idea. I guess you grew up eventually.
京晶：是个好主意。我猜你终究也是长大了。
Mark: Of course. But come to think of it, I might not say "no" to my own kids quite so often.
马克：当然。但仔细想想，我也许不会对自己的孩子经常说不。
Jingjing: Give me an example of a time.
京晶：给我举个例吧，比如
Mark: Well, OK. We travelled a lot. But my parents hardly ever took me out to restaurants on those trips.
马克：好吧。我家经常出门旅游，但父母从来不在旅途中带我去餐馆吃饭。
Jingjing: Isn't that because the food was overpriced at some of those tourist traps?
京晶：难道不是因为有些敲竹杠的旅游景点的餐饮都贵得离谱吗？
Mark: Yeah, I know that now. But back then, I thought it sucked. And, when I got a little older and had my own money, I spent too much of it on restaurants.
马克：是，我知道。但是回到那时候，我真觉得这事太不给力了。后来等我稍微长大了一些，自己挣钱了，我又在出去吃饭这事上乱花了太多。
Jingjing: You might have felt a little deprived. But you understand now.
京晶：你可能感觉有点被剥夺了什么权利，但是现在你理解了。
Mark: Clearly. But what I'd do differently is to give my kid a choice: do you want to eat in one of these restaurants, or get supermarket food and then have something better when we're back home?
马克：当然了。但是我会用不同的方法对待我的孩子，给他选择：你愿意在外面的餐馆吃，或者超市里买点，等我们回家后做更好吃的？
Jingjing: That's putting it well, hopefully in a way a kid could understand.
京晶：这方法很好啊很巧妙啊！希望孩子能理解能懂。
Mark: Actually, my parents and I read one of the same books on parenting: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.
马克：事实上我和我父母都读过同一本关于养育孩子的书：《如何说孩子才会听你，如何听孩子才愿意说》。
Jingjing: That's a promising title.
京晶：这标题很吸引人。
Mark: I read it just a few months ago. I have the PDF I can send you.
马克：我几个月前才读了，我有PDF版可以发给你看。
Jingjing: Please. I'd like to have a look at it.
京晶：一定啊，我也很想看看。

New words: 习语短语

vitamin N 对孩子说不
saying "no" to children, in ways that will help them learn
spoiled 宠溺，宠坏
given too much, so that a person does not learn how to work or feel grateful
deprived 被剥夺了该有的东西
not given what is necessary
putting it well 用很好的方式解释
expressing something in a good way
PDF 可携式文档格式
portable document format, a file type for books and other pieces of writing