為什么有些孩子現(xiàn)在更快樂(lè)?

為什么有些孩子現(xiàn)在更快樂(lè)?

Like most parents, Seagal Hagege, a mom of three in Irvine, California, wasn't exactly looking forward to staying at home.

西格爾·哈格格是三個(gè)孩子的母親，住在加州爾灣，和大多數(shù)父母一樣，她并不期待在家。

Together all day? In one house? How would the kids respond?

一整天都在一起?在一個(gè)房子嗎?孩子們會(huì)作何反應(yīng)?

Much better than she could have ever imagined, it turns out. Over the course of the past month, she said her kids, ages 8. 7 and 4. have become better behaved, kinder to one another and more independent.

結(jié)果比她想象的要好得多。在過(guò)去的一個(gè)月里，她說(shuō)她8歲、7歲和4歲的孩子們表現(xiàn)得更好了，對(duì)彼此更友善了，也更獨(dú)立了。

"Beforehand, they didn't have a chance to just be present at home. Every day after school we were running to music, and then we would get home, do homework and go to bed," Hagege said.

“在此之前，他們沒(méi)有機(jī)會(huì)只是呆在家里。每天放學(xué)后，我們都跟著音樂(lè)跑，然后回到家，做作業(yè)，上床睡覺(jué)，”哈格格說(shuō)。

"Now we have a chance to take a break together. They've really stepped up,," she said, talking about the games her kids are inventing and their new responsibilities like slicing fruits and vegetables for meals.

“現(xiàn)在我們有機(jī)會(huì)一起休息一下。他們真的進(jìn)步了，”她說(shuō)，談到她的孩子們正在發(fā)明的游戲，以及他們的新職責(zé)，比如把水果和蔬菜切成片當(dāng)飯吃。

"It's been really eye-opening. I don't want it to go back to the way things were."

“這真的讓人大開(kāi)眼界。我不想讓它回到過(guò)去的樣子。”

A number of parents are encountering a similar (and unexpected) response as Hagege: Their children seem happier.

許多父母遇到了與哈格格類(lèi)似的(出乎意料的)的反應(yīng):他們的孩子似乎更快樂(lè)。

They are less busy, have more control over their time, are sleeping better, seeing more of their parents, playing more alone or with siblings — and feeling better for it. To be sure, this is but one of many feelings children are experiencing, which also include anxiety, fear and sadness.

他們不再那么忙碌，對(duì)時(shí)間有更多的控制，睡眠質(zhì)量更好，能更多地看到父母，更多地獨(dú)自玩?；蚺c兄弟姐妹玩耍——而且感覺(jué)更好。誠(chéng)然，這只是孩子們正在經(jīng)歷的許多感覺(jué)之一，還包括焦慮、恐懼和悲傷。

And there are a large number of children living with financial insecurity and grief. No sane person would expect kids to be feeling better in those circumstances.

還有很多孩子生活在經(jīng)濟(jì)上的不安全感和悲傷中。理智的人不會(huì)指望孩子在這種情況下會(huì)感覺(jué)更好。

Kids are getting to slow down

孩子們開(kāi)始慢下來(lái)了

While it's too early for any studies on a happiness spike, hundreds of families from around the United States have shared on social media and in discussion boards a sense of relief and joy, which tracks with what we know about the causes of childhood anxiety and depression today.

雖然現(xiàn)在做任何關(guān)于幸福感激增的研究都還為時(shí)過(guò)早，但來(lái)自美國(guó)各地的數(shù)百個(gè)家庭已經(jīng)在社交媒體和討論版上分享了一種解脫和快樂(lè)的感覺(jué)，這與我們目前所知的導(dǎo)致兒童焦慮和抑郁的原因相吻合。

Between 2009 and 2017. rates of depression rose by roughly 60 percent among those ages 14 to 17. and by 47 percent among those ages 12 to 13. according to a 2019 study. Suicides among 10- to 24-year-olds rose 56 percent from 2007 to 2017.

根據(jù)2019年的一項(xiàng)研究，在2009年到2017年之間，14到17歲的人群中抑郁癥的比例上升了約60%，12到13歲的人群中上升了47%。從2007年到2017年，10歲到24歲的年輕人自殺率上升了56%。

One of the most well-supported explanations for this rise of mental health disorders is that children have too much going on and not enough choice over what they do. It's a function of a whole society that is overworked and time-poor, and our kids are paying the price for it.

對(duì)于這種心理健康障礙的增加，最有力的解釋之一是，孩子們有太多的事情要做，卻沒(méi)有足夠的選擇去做什么。這是整個(gè)社會(huì)過(guò)度工作和缺乏時(shí)間的結(jié)果，而我們的孩子為此付出了代價(jià)。

Why were our children so anxious?

為什么我們的孩子如此焦慮?

Peter Gray, research professor of psychology at Boston College and author of the book "Free to Learn," suspected that the school closures are a big contributing factor to the happiness spike.

波士頓學(xué)院心理學(xué)研究教授、《自由學(xué)習(xí)》一書(shū)的作者彼得·格雷懷疑，學(xué)校停課是導(dǎo)致幸福感飆升的一個(gè)重要因素。

School has become more achievement-focused, and recess and opportunities for creative play have shrunk. He said that suicide rates for children are twice as high during the school year than they are during the summer.

學(xué)校變得更注重成績(jī)，課間休息和創(chuàng)造性游戲的機(jī)會(huì)減少了。他說(shuō)，孩子們?cè)谛Ｆ陂g的自殺率是夏季自殺率的兩倍。

Making matters worse, children are rarely offered much of a reprieve after the bell rings.

更糟糕的是，孩子們很少能在鈴聲響起后得到喘息的機(jī)會(huì)。

"We tend to think children develop best when carefully guided by adults. So the belief is that even when they are out of school, children need to be guided," he said. "Kids rarely get a break from being judged and directed."

“我們傾向于認(rèn)為，在成年人的悉心引導(dǎo)下，孩子們會(huì)發(fā)展得最好。所以他們的信念是，即使他們離開(kāi)了學(xué)校，孩子們也需要有人指導(dǎo)。”“孩子們很少能從被評(píng)判和指導(dǎo)中得到休息。”