Take advantage/find an approach

[Anna232]

Is it idiomatic to use "take advantage of good weather" and "find an approach to somebody?"

"They decided to go out of town because the kids loved hiking and they wanted to take advantage of good weather. As parents they felt they should have been able to find an approach to their children. So a family picnic seemed like a great idea.

Context: I am talking about the decision of a family to take their children out of town after the stressful term at school. I use "approach" to talk about the problems the family is facing with their teenage children.

 

[emsr2d2]

Is it idiomatic to use "take advantage of good weather" and "find an approach to somebody?"

"They decided to go out of town because the kids loved hiking and they wanted to take advantage of the good weather. As parents, they felt they should have been able to find an approach to their children no full stop here so a family picnic seemed like a great idea.

Context: I am talking about the decision of a family to take their children out of town after the a stressful term at school. I use "approach" to talk about the problems the family is facing with their teenage children.

"Take advantage of the good weather" is correct. However, "to find an approach to their children" is not. Even with your explanation, I'm not sure what you mean.

 

[Anna232]

"Take advantage of the good weather" is correct. However, "to find an approach to their children" is not.

Weather is always used with the definite article, isn't it? As in "The weather here is terrible" or "How is the weather there?"

Even with your explanation, I'm not sure what you mean.

I mean it can be difficult to deal with some teenagers so I was wondering if the word "approach" can be used to refer to people. By "approach" I mean the way a person should be treated or dealt with. Can it be used?

 

[emsr2d2]

Weather is always used with the definite article, isn't it? As in "The weather here is terrible" or "How is the weather there?"

It's not always used with the definite article, no. It depends on whether there's an adjective involved. For example, "We're having bad weather here today" or "I hate cold weather".

I mean it can be difficult to deal with some teenagers so I was wondering if the word "approach" can be used to refer to people. By "approach" I mean the way a person should be treated or dealt with. Can it be used?

There's nothing wrong with the word "approach" but you need to change the rest of the sentence. You could say, for example, "The parents were searching for the right approach to help their children deal with the stress of school".

 

[Anna232]

It's not always used with the definite article, no. It depends on whether there's an adjective involved. For example, "We're having bad weather here today" or "I hate cold weather".

So with an adjective it isn't used, but if there is no adjective it is used. Do I understand you correctly?

 

[emsr2d2]

So with an adjective it isn't used, but if there is no adjective it is used. Do I understand you correctly?

It's not that simple, now that I think about it! The following sentences are both correct:

1. Bad weather is very annoying.
2. The bad weather we had yesterday was very annoying.

The difference is that in the first sentence, we're talking generally about weather. In the second, we're talking about the specific weather on a specific day.

 

[tedmc]

As parents they felt they should have been able to find an approach to their children. So a family picnic seemed like a great idea.

find a way to spend quality time/engage/interact with their children to promote family bonding?

 

[Anna232]

It's not that simple, now that I think about it! The following sentences are both correct:

1. Bad weather is very annoying.
2. The bad weather we had yesterday was very annoying.

The difference is that in the first sentence, we're talking generally about weather. In the second, we're talking about the specific weather on a specific day.

Is no full stop or a comma required because "so" is a coordinating conjunction connecting two independent clauses?

"As parents, they felt they should have been able to find an approach to their children so a family picnic seemed like a great idea."

 

[emsr2d2]

Is no full stop or a comma required because "so" is a coordinating conjunction connecting two independent clauses?

"As parents, they felt they should have been able to find an approach to their children so a family picnic seemed like a great idea."

I see no point commenting on a sentence we've already said is ungrammatical. I told you that "to find an approach to their children" was wrong. Why have you repeated it?

 

[Anna232]

I see no point commenting on a sentence we've already said is ungrammatical. I told you that "to find an approach to their children" was wrong. Why have you repeated it?

Oh, I copied the wrong one. Sorry. I mean if I still used "so" in my sentence. If I use it to connect independent clauses is the comma optional?
"The parents were searching for the right approach to help their children deal with the stress of school so they decided to go on a picnic.

 

[tedmc]

Both "approach to their children" and "approach to help their children" don't work for me. You find a way to help your children by spending time to bond with them.

 

[Tarheel]

I might say they were looking for the right way to help them.