Discussion Topic - Parents and children
- Details
- Written by IELTS Mentor
Discussion Topic - Parents and children
Part 1 - Introduction & Interview:
Q. 1. Who are you closest to in your family?
Answer: I would say that I am closest to my mother of all my family members mainly because my mother probably is the easiest person in the world to get along with. I can talk to my mother pretty much about everything without much of an issue and ask for her advice whenever I need it.
Q. 2. Do you get along well with your family?
Answer: Yes, I think that I get along pretty well with everybody in my family. Of course, we have disagreements over different issues from time to time, but I think that this kind of thing is a regular thing in pretty much every family. After all, the important thing is that we all settle down after a good argument at the end of the day.
Q. 3. Are your parents your role model in life? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: Yes, I would certainly say that my parents are the best role model in my life because I have seen how they have raised their family and stuck with it in thick and thin since the day I started to understand the world around me. My parents have been truly inspirational with their hard works and discipline and not to mention their unconditional love and dedication for me.
Q. 4. How much time did your parents spend with you when you were a child?
Answer: I would say that my parents managed to spend a good amount of time with me during my childhood, especially my mother who was a housewife and stayed at home all the time. However, as far as my father was concerned, he used to spend a significant amount of time outside of the home because of his work. Despite his busy work schedule, he tried his best to spend as much time as possible with me.
Part 3 - Details Discussion:
Q. 1. How much time do parents spend with their children in your country? Do you think that is enough?
Answer: Unfortunately, parents, these days don’t get much time to spend with their children primarily because both the parents and children have become way too busier than ever before in the history of my country. While parents are busy building their careers outside of their homes, children are also busy with their “huge load” of school and home works. On top of that, the “free” time the children have after finishing their study-related works, is usually spend either by playing with their friends or playing video games or watching videos on YouTube. In the same way, parents also become too tired after finishing their jobs most of the times. Therefore, the end result is whatever time, left for parents to spend with their children after following such a busy schedule, is never really enough.
Q. 2. How important do you think spending time together is for the relationships between parents and children? Why?
Answer: I think that it is quite important for parents and children to spend quality time together primarily because it helps build a very natural, healthy and emotional bond between them which is likely to last for the rest of their lives. When parents and children spend time together, it also helps create beautiful and lasting memories, along with a vital sense of “security”, in the minds of the children, which is absolutely important for ensuring a proper “cognitive” development for them. Besides, spending time together also teaches children about how to interact with others by developing respect and empathy for them. Finally, spending time together also allows the parents to “discipline” their children, should they go “astray”, which is absolutely important to help them become some good citizens in the future.
Q. 3. Have relationships between parents and children changed in recent years? Why do you think that is?
Answer: Yes, relationships between parents and children have changed in recent years to a great extent. In the past, seldom did we see that children were arguing with their parents, but today, we see that the children are frequently voicing their “concerns and opinion” without any fear or reservation. Besides, parents, today are way more concerned and protective about raising their children due to receiving conflicting messages from different kind of media. Another significant change today is that parents are not managing enough quality time to spend with their children because of spending too much time outside of their homes in order to pursue their careers. Finally, both children and parents today are in constant communication, unlike in the past, because of the advancement in communication technology (i.e. Smartphones and internet).
Q. 4. What are the most popular free-time activities with children today?
Answer: Where I live, the most popular free-time activities with children today may include playing video games, visiting the zoos and amusement parks, watching cartoons and children’s movies and watching TV. Children also enjoy some popular free-time activities like playing different kinds of sports with their friends, visiting cafés and restaurants to enjoy their favourite food and snacks. However, it all depends on whether they want to enjoy these activities with their friends/families or alone.
Q. 5. How parents can supervise their children's free-time activities?
Answer: In order to supervise children’s free-time activities, parents must first make “time” out of their regular work schedules so that they are able to remain present physically at the locations where the children are enjoying their free-time activities. But, if parents are not able to remain physically present with their children, they should at least make sure that their children enjoy their free-time activities only at those locations where some “authorized personnel” are supervising their kids’ activities on behalf of their parents. Finally, parents can also supervise the children’s activities by allowing them to enjoy their free time inside their homes or by keeping them very close to their homes.
Q. 6. Should parent monitor what their young children do online? Why?
Answer: Yes, parents should always monitor the activities of their children online mainly because it may limit their real social interaction, which is not exactly a good thing for developing social and communication skills. Besides, spending too much time online without supervision may expose children to “inappropriate contents”, as well as harmful behaviours like harassment, bullying and cursing. The problem with these kinds of “harmful” behaviours/contents is that they can easily destroy the children’s reputation in future as they can be easily found by other people in order to use these contents against the children. Finally, without supervision, they could very easily be “deceived” to become involved in relationships with people, who pretend to be some “perfect” people online, while they may actually be completely “opposite” in real life.
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