Chinese are very generous (慷慨) when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia. They also want their children to take extra-course activities. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is.  However what most parents fail to realize is that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
    Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
    Cooking demands (要求)patience and time.  A good cook always tries to improve his cooking. so he will learn to work hard and gradually(逐渐), finish his job successfully.  His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self confidence.
    Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up.  These activities are not merely   teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.