Helicopter parenting, the practice of hovering anxiously near one’s children, monitoring their every activity, is so 20th century. Some affluent mothers and fathers now are more like snowplows: machines chugging ahead, clearing any obstacles in their child’s path to success, so they don’t have to encounter failure, frustration or lost opportunities.
“直升机式”育儿，是指父母一直焦虑地徘徊在孩子身边，监控着他们的一举一动的育儿方式，而这已经是 20 世纪的说法了。现在，一些富裕的父母更像是扫雪机：像机器一样，突突地向前推进，为他们的孩子通往成功的道路上清除一切可能出现的障碍，这样他们的孩子就不必遭遇失败和挫折，或是失去机会。
Taken to its criminal extreme, that means bribing SAT proctors and paying off college coaches to get children into elite colleges—and then going to great lengths to make sure they never face the humiliation of knowing how they got there.
如果走到犯罪的极端，那意味着“扫雪机父母”会为了让他们的孩子进入精英大学，贿赂 SAT 监考人员和大学教练，然后竭尽全力确保他们的孩子不会因为知道自己是如何进入名牌大学而蒙羞。
It starts early, when parents get on wait lists for elite preschools before their babies are born and try to make sure their toddlers never do anything that may frustrate them. It gets more intense when school starts: running a forgotten assignment to school or calling a coach to request that their child make the team.
这样扫雪机式的养育方式其实很早就开始了，父母在孩子出生前就进入了精英学前班的候选名单，并试图确保他们的孩子永远不会做任何有可能让他们沮丧的事。当他们的孩子上学后，这种做法愈演愈烈：把忘在家里的作业开车送到学校，或者给教练打电话，要求他们的孩子加入球队。
Yes, it’s a parent’s job to support the children, and to use their adult wisdom to prepare for the future when their children aren’t mature enough to do so. That’s why parents hide certain toys from toddlers to avoid temper tantrums or take away a teenager’s car keys until he finishes his college applications.
的确，抚养孩子是父母的职责，当他们的孩子还不够成熟时，用成年人的智慧为孩子的将来做准备无可厚非。这就是为什么父母会把某些玩具藏起来，不让蹒跚学步的孩子看到，以免他们发脾气，或者在孩子完成大学申请前拿走他们的车钥匙。
But snowplow parents can take it too far, some experts say. If children have never faced an obstacle, what happens when they get into the real world?
但是一些专家说，扫雪机父母可能做过头了。如果孩子们从来没有遇到过障碍，当他们进入现实世界时会发生什么？
Learning to solve problems, take risks and overcome frustration are crucial life skills, many child development experts say, and if parents don’t let their children encounter failure, the children don’t acquire them.
许多儿童发展专家说，学会解决问题、承担风险和克服挫折是至关重要的生活技能。如果父母不让他们的孩子遭遇失败，孩子们将无法获得这些技能。
————— 文章来源 / 纽约时报
snowplow/ˈsnoʊplaʊ/
n. 雪犁；扫雪机
e.g.
相关词汇：snow（n. 雪）；plow（n. 犁）
hover/ˈhʌvər/
v. 盘旋；徘徊
e.g.
例句：A hawk hovered over the hill.
affluent/ˈæfluənt/
adj. 富足的，富裕的
e.g.
相关词汇：fluent（adj. 流畅的，流利的）
搭配短语：affluent parents
chug/tʃʌɡ/
v. 突突地缓慢行驶
e.g.
英文释义：If a car, train etc. chugs somewhere, it moves there slowly, with the engine making a repeated low sound.
take sth. to extremes
使…走至极端
e.g.
近义词： take sth. to the extreme
例句：If you take exercise to its extreme, it can be dangerous.
bribe/braɪb/
v. 向…行贿
e.g.
搭配短语：bribe sb. with sth.
pay off
（某事）很值得；贿赂
e.g.
例句：All the hard work has paid off tremendously.
例句：All the witnesses have been paid off.
go to great lengths
不遗余力，竭尽全力
humiliation/hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃn/
n. 屈辱；丢脸
e.g.
词性拓展：humiliate（v. 羞辱某人）
近义词：shame
搭配短语：the humiliation of defeat
toddler/ˈtɑːdlər/
n. 学步的儿童
e.g.
词义辨析
toddler, infant, child
toddler 指“学步的儿童；刚学会走路的孩子”；infant 指“婴儿；四岁到七岁之间的学童”；child 泛指“儿童；小孩”。通常情况下，toddler 比婴儿 infant 要大，但是比儿童 child 又要小一点。
temper tantrum
脾气发作
e.g.
相关词汇：temper（n. 脾气）；tantrum（n. 耍性子，孩子闹脾气）
tantrum 英文释义：a sudden period of uncontrolled anger, especially that of a young child
例句：Children often have temper tantrums around the age of two.
acquire/əˈkwaɪər/
v. 获得（技能）；养成（习惯）
e.g.
英文释义：to gain something by your own efforts, ability or behaviour
例句：Many college students have acquired a good knowledge of English