最近发现，
想让娃儿在笔记本上写几个字，
实在太难了。
才写三个字，
就已经跟我吵了三次架。
他说：
“写字太无聊了。”
我心想，
不想写就不写呗。
⸻
有一天，
我突然冒出一个想法。
我跟他说：
“你每天教我四个SAT单词。
我教你四个汉字。
你确保我都掌握了。
我也确保你掌握了。
这样我每次给你一块钱。
每天最多一块。
相当于一个字二十五分。
行吗？”
既然有这么好的赚钱机会，
娃儿一下子就答应了。
⸻
其实，
那些复杂又不常见的英文单词，
我怎么也记不住。
能让娃儿教一教，我也顺便学一点，
他还能马上进入准备大学生词的阶段，
好像也挺不错。
结果，
话音刚落，
我突然想到一个问题。
我说：
“我教你，
那不是你也应该给我钱吗？”
娃儿想都没想，
马上回答：
“这是你的问题，
不是我的问题。
是你自己订的规则。”
一下子就被他抓住了一个 bug。
看他那个得意的样子，
我都不知道该怎么反驳。
⸻
第一天学完以后，
他突然问：
“妈妈，
我今天还能再学几个汉字吗？”
我回答：
“不行。
每天只能学四个啊！
再学，
我就没钱给你了！”
⸻
我猜，
娃儿当下应该挺无奈的。
估计心里在想：
哪有还不让孩子多学习的妈妈。
⸻
后来，
我让他用“马”字组词。
结果，
他脱口而出：
“马斯克。”
而且音调还特别准。
一下子把我给逗笑了。
我心想：
我还马云呢！
婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.06.07
原创发布： tingtingma.com
写给孩子，也写给正在成长的大人。
未经授权，请勿转载。
Tingma’s Parenting Diary | 283. The Mom Who Won’t Let Her Child Learn More
Recently, I discovered that
getting my son to write just a few Chinese characters in his notebook
is incredibly difficult.
After writing only three characters,
we had already argued three times.
He said,
“Writing is so boring.”
I thought to myself,
If you don’t want to write, then don’t write.
⸻
One day,
I suddenly came up with an idea.
I said to him,
“You teach me four SAT vocabulary words every day.
I’ll teach you four Chinese characters.
You make sure I’ve mastered the words.
I’ll make sure you’ve mastered the characters.
And every time we do that,
I’ll give you one dollar.
One dollar maximum per day.
That means each character is worth twenty-five cents.
Deal?”
Since it sounded like such a great way to earn money,
he agreed immediately.
⸻
To be honest,
those complicated and uncommon English vocabulary words
are impossible for me to remember.
If my son teaches me,
I can learn a little too.
And he can start building vocabulary for college entrance exams early.
That seemed like a pretty good arrangement.
Then,
right after I finished explaining the idea,
a question suddenly popped into my head.
I said,
“Wait a minute.
If I’m teaching you,
shouldn’t you be paying me too?”
Without even thinking,
my son replied,
“That’s your problem,
not my problem.
You made the rules.”
Just like that,
he found a bug in my system.
Looking at the proud expression on his face,
I had absolutely no comeback.
⸻
After our first day,
he suddenly asked,
“Mom,
can I learn a few more Chinese characters today?”
I answered,
“No.
Only four per day!
If you learn more,
I won’t have enough money to pay you!”
⸻
I imagine he must have felt pretty helpless at that moment.
He was probably thinking,
What kind of mother refuses to let her child learn more?
⸻
Later,
I asked him to make a word using the character “马” (horse).
Without hesitation,
he blurted out,
“Elon Musk.”
And his pronunciation was surprisingly accurate.
It made me laugh immediately.
I thought to myself,
Well, then I’ll say Jack Ma!
Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on June 07, 2026
Originally published at: tingtingma.com
Written for my child, and for the adults who are still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.