Earlier this week Sir Elton John expressed anxieties about how his young son, Zachary, might be treated when he goes to school.
本周早些时候，艾尔顿·约翰爵士坦言自己对儿子扎卡里的担心，
He
fears
he
might
face
bullying
because
his
parents
are
gay
and
Britain
can
still
be
homophobic.
害怕他会因为父母是同性恋在学校受到欺负，毕竟英国人依旧排斥同性恋。
He
may
be
right,
though
in
all
the
schools
I
know,
children
come
now
from
every
type
of
family
circumstance,
and
don't
think
twice
about
it.
他的顾虑或许有道理，但据我所知，现在学校里的学生来自各种家庭背景，这是毫无疑问的。
Nevertheless,
the
playground
can
be
cruel
and
adults
need
to
be
vigilant.
尽管如此，学校里也可能会发生恶性事件，家长们需要保持警惕。
But
Elton
John's
anxiety
made
me
think
more
generally
about
how
our
children
experience
childhood
and
what
we
want
for
them
from
it.
不过，艾尔顿·约翰的担心让我从更广的层面思考孩子是如何度过童年的，我们又希望他们从中获得什么。
Of
course,
childhood
is
not
a
stage
in
life
determined
by
our
biology
but
a
human
convention.
当然，童年不由遗传决定，而是社会习俗决定。
This
is
why
we
can
sometimes
get
in
a
muddle
about
it,
especially
about
the
point
of
transition
to
adulthood.
因此我们有时会感到茫然无措，这种情形在我们步入成年时更为尤甚。
We
send
mixed
messages
when
we
tell
our
children
different
stories
about
their
level
of
maturity
给孩子讲述成年人关心的不同话题时，
in
relation
to
getting
married,
casting
a
vote,
taking
out
a
loan,
fighting
for
their
country,
and
so
on.
我们常常对结婚、投票、贷款、保家卫国等话题褒贬不一。
I
once
had
an
argument
with
someone
who
passionately
believed
我曾与某人就刑事责任年龄发生分歧，
that
the
age
of
criminal
responsibility
should
be
raised
from
ten
to
16,
even
18.
她坚信刑事责任年龄应从10岁升至16岁，甚至到18岁。
"
We
have
to
remember,"
she
said, "
that
these
young
people
are
children."
“别忘了，”她说，“这些年轻人都还是小孩子。”
I
was
not
unsympathetic,
but
all
the
time
I
kept
hearing
some
words
of
my
own
teenage
son,
我并非冷酷无情，但我总听到儿子对我说：
words
most
parents
hear
at
some
time, "
Dad,
stop
treating
me
like
a
child. "
“爸爸，别把我当作小孩子。”相信绝大部分父母都听过这句话。
At
one
time
getting
a
job
was
the
rite
of
passage
out
of
childhood.
步入职场一度是人们告别童年的成年仪式，
But
now
unemployment
suspends
many
young
people
between
childhood
and
the
adult
world
然而失业现况将许多年轻人置于童年和成年世界之间，
with
few
helpful
precedents
as
to
how
to
live
well
in
this
in-
between
existence.
却鲜有先例告诉他们该如何面对这一尴尬境地。
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