1. How do advertisements influence children?
Ads can be very influential. The main purpose of an ad is to motivate people to purchase certain objects. Children5 s ads especially target young kids by including their favourite toy characters or showing other kids having fun while playing with a certain toy. These ads can make children more prone to502 wanting to buy things, and growing up to think that happiness is associated with purchasing things.
2. What’s the difference between the toys kids play with now and those they played with in the past?
I suppose that the main difference is that the toys now are more electronic. The internet has become a really big thing503, so most toys are either on the internet or involve the internet somehow. The toys in the past were more hands-on504, like toy blocks and rolling hoops505. A lot of the toys involved using the imagination or going outdoors, which allowed those children to be more active.
3. Do you think parents should buy more toys for their kids or spend more time with them?
Parents should definitely spend more time with their kids. It5s a really good idea to be able to enjoy time with family. Spending time with their parents allows children to form stronger bonds with them506, and helps them in the future when they form relationships with other people. You know, no matter how many toys the parents buy for their children, they can’t compare to quality time together.
4. Do you think playing has benefits for children? Why?
Most definitely. Playing games allows children to use their imagination. For example, pretend-play507,
which helps them gain specific characteristics and skills, like communication and cooperation, that will be helpful in the future. Plus, by being allowed to be more creative, these children tend to grow up happier and also gain skills that allow them to think outside of the box508. Without being able to play, children won’t learn how to express themselves and interact with other children.
5. Do you think team activities have benefits for children? Why?
Yes, definitely. Team activities help children learn how to work with other people, how to lead and how to follow, how to resolve conflicts, and most importantly, it makes them more open to other perspectives. This can be really helpful in the future because most tasks usually involve more than one person. Being exposed to team activities at an early age ensures that these children are able to be open-minded509 and cooperative with each other.
502 prone to:有…倾向
503 areally big thing: …很重要，越来越重要
504 hands-on:亲自动手操作的
505 toy blocks and rolling hoops:积木和滚环（小时候玩的滚铁圈）
506 form stronger bonds with them:和家人关系更亲密
507 pretend-play:角色扮演
508 think outside of the box:打破常规思考问题
509 open-minded:开朗豁达