In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied.

　　在這個(gè)充斥著網(wǎng)聊，電子游戲與真人秀的時(shí)代，并不缺乏讓小孩子沉迷的玩物。

　　Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories.

　　盡管有著這些誘惑，我8歲的女兒Rebecca，卻希望花時(shí)間寫寫小故事。

　　She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.

　　她打算將其中一個(gè)作品拿去比賽-------一個(gè)去年她獲勝的比賽。

　　As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them.

　　作為一名作家，我十分了解寫作比賽中贏和輸意味著什么。

　　I know what it is like to work hard on a story to receive a rejection slip from the publisher.

　　我知道，當(dāng)辛辛苦苦寫完一個(gè)故事卻遭到出版社的拒絕是一種什么樣的心情;

　　I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories.

　　我也知道，要維護(hù)從前的成功所帶來的聲望需要承受多么大的壓力。

　　What if she doesnt win the contest again?

　　加入女兒這次贏不了比賽會(huì)怎么樣呢?

　　Thats the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.

　　作為父母，這是無比奇怪的事情。我們以往的很多傷痕和破碎的夢(mèng)想會(huì)慢慢浮現(xiàn)出來。

　　A revelation came last week when I asked her, Dont you want to win again? No, she replied, I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.

　　知道上星期，我得到了啟示。我問她：你想再贏一次嗎?不女兒回答，我只想告訴大家一個(gè)天使上一年級(jí)的故事

　　I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously told them.

　　我其實(shí)已經(jīng)花了好幾個(gè)星期在女兒不自覺地講述時(shí)修正她的故事。

　　Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall.

　　我告訴自己，這無非是一個(gè)有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的作家在引導(dǎo)一個(gè)新作家而已。

　　I offered suggestions first grade was quickly guided by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson.

　　我給了她不少建議，關(guān)于角色，沖突以及故事的結(jié)局，在我的指引下，這個(gè)原本講小天使擔(dān)驚受怕地開始念一年級(jí)的故事，很快變成了一個(gè)充滿豐富想象力的女孩開始第一節(jié)音樂課的歷程。

　　I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

　　在我不經(jīng)意時(shí)，我已經(jīng)把她的比當(dāng)成了自己的比賽。

　　Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks.

　　放手給孩子空間成長(zhǎng)不想看起來那么簡(jiǎn)單。

　　Because I know little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade. 因?yàn)槲覍?duì)能用工具的農(nóng)場(chǎng)動(dòng)物，或者一年級(jí)的小天使一無所知。

　　I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting my daughters experience.

　　我不得不承認(rèn)我借用了女兒的經(jīng)歷。

　　While steeping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked.

　　盡管對(duì)于我來說放手不容易，但可喜的是，這回是一個(gè)好的開端，我很快可以學(xué)會(huì)更多，給自己一段合適的距離，既可以讓女兒有發(fā)展的空間，同時(shí)在她需要時(shí)施以援手。

　　All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment , grow and find their own voices.

　　在這個(gè)過程中，我會(huì)一直提醒自己，孩子需要空間去嘗試，去找到屬于自己的路。

　　In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied.

　　在這個(gè)充斥著網(wǎng)聊，電子游戲與真人秀的時(shí)代，并不缺乏讓小孩子沉迷的玩物。

　　Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories.

　　盡管有著這些誘惑，我8歲的女兒Rebecca，卻希望花時(shí)間寫寫小故事。

　　She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.

　　她打算將其中一個(gè)作品拿去比賽-------一個(gè)去年她獲勝的比賽。

　　As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them.

　　作為一名作家，我十分了解寫作比賽中贏和輸意味著什么。

　　I know what it is like to work hard on a story to receive a rejection slip from the publisher.

　　我知道，當(dāng)辛辛苦苦寫完一個(gè)故事卻遭到出版社的拒絕是一種什么樣的心情;

　　I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories.

　　我也知道，要維護(hù)從前的成功所帶來的聲望需要承受多么大的壓力。

　　What if she doesnt win the contest again?

　　加入女兒這次贏不了比賽會(huì)怎么樣呢?

　　Thats the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.

　　作為父母，這是無比奇怪的事情。我們以往的很多傷痕和破碎的夢(mèng)想會(huì)慢慢浮現(xiàn)出來。

　　A revelation came last week when I asked her, Dont you want to win again? No, she replied, I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.

　　知道上星期，我得到了啟示。我問她：你想再贏一次嗎?不女兒回答，我只想告訴大家一個(gè)天使上一年級(jí)的故事

　　I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously told them.

　　我其實(shí)已經(jīng)花了好幾個(gè)星期在女兒不自覺地講述時(shí)修正她的故事。

　　Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall.

　　我告訴自己，這無非是一個(gè)有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的作家在引導(dǎo)一個(gè)新作家而已。

　　I offered suggestions first grade was quickly guided by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson.

　　我給了她不少建議，關(guān)于角色，沖突以及故事的結(jié)局，在我的指引下，這個(gè)原本講小天使擔(dān)驚受怕地開始念一年級(jí)的故事，很快變成了一個(gè)充滿豐富想象力的女孩開始第一節(jié)音樂課的歷程。

　　I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

　　在我不經(jīng)意時(shí)，我已經(jīng)把她的比當(dāng)成了自己的比賽。

　　Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks.

　　放手給孩子空間成長(zhǎng)不想看起來那么簡(jiǎn)單。

　　Because I know little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade. 因?yàn)槲覍?duì)能用工具的農(nóng)場(chǎng)動(dòng)物，或者一年級(jí)的小天使一無所知。

　　I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting my daughters experience.

　　我不得不承認(rèn)我借用了女兒的經(jīng)歷。

　　While steeping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked.

　　盡管對(duì)于我來說放手不容易，但可喜的是，這回是一個(gè)好的開端，我很快可以學(xué)會(huì)更多，給自己一段合適的距離，既可以讓女兒有發(fā)展的空間，同時(shí)在她需要時(shí)施以援手。

　　All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment , grow and find their own voices.

　　在這個(gè)過程中，我會(huì)一直提醒自己，孩子需要空間去嘗試，去找到屬于自己的路。