很难忘记四岁时，和妈妈一起赴她朋友的那次下午茶之约。我妈妈为我倒了杯茶，然后问我：“你要加牛奶还是柠檬？”“都要！”我回答。
I will never forget being four-years-old and invited to join my mother and her friends for some tea and cookies. My mother poured me a cup of tea and asked, “Do you want milk or lemon?” I replied, “Can I have both?”
我妈妈本可以轻易地告诉我，两个都选可不是个好主意，并且坚持己见的让我二选一。但她没有这么做，她给我的杯子里加了牛奶，然后又给了我一个柠檬瓣，我把它扔进杯子里。哇！我随后惊讶并迷失在柠檬和牛奶相遇后，被无数小小泡沫包围的情景里。
My mother could have easily told me that was not a good idea and insisted that I choose one or the other. Instead, she added some milk to my cup and then handed me a lemon wedge to drop in. I was subsequently amazed and entranced as the citrus hit the surface and the milk immediately curdled into a multitude of tiny balls.
是的！我妈妈就这样让我浪费了一杯美好的茶。但话说回来，她却在生物化学领域给与我无与伦比的启迪。在很多年以后，我在大学里的变性蛋白小测验一直得“A”
Yes, my mother allowed me to waste a perfectly good cup of tea. On the other hand, she inspired in me a powerful fascination with biochemistry. And many years later when taking a quiz on “denatured proteins” in college, I had absolutely no problem getting an A.
孩子们经常想知道，“如果……会怎样？”作为家长，我们总是倾向于直接告诉他们。但是在安全第一的前提下，你是不是可以考虑不只是给予他们常识，而是去启发他们自己去发现。
Children often want to know, “What would happen if…?” And as parents, we have a tendency to just tell them. But as long as safety is not an issue, you might consider giving them not only some instant knowledge but the inspiration to acquire more as well by instead just saying, “Let’s find out!”
以上文字摘录于悦宝园前首席顾问 Michael K. Meyerhoff博士的博客。
（本期漫画由杨洋绘制）
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