• How strict was your own upbringing in the following areas: studying and homework; free time; general behaviour?

• If you have siblings of the opposite sex, were there any differences in the way they were brought up?

• How would you compare your own upbringing to that of your parents?

  • What factors do you think have influenced the changes?

  • To what extent do you think your parents’ upbringing influenced the way they brought you up?

• ​Do you think it's OK to threat a child with "wait until Daddy gets home", or physical violence?

• What are elements of your upbringing that you would consciously make the decision not to replicate in the raising of your own child?

  • Did your parents monitor your behaviour, and control decisions concerning your studies, friends, whereabouts, relationships, etc.?

  • Should parents step in to defend their children from bullies, teachers and other challenges, or are they being overbearing?

  • "I do everything for my child". The 'selfless' parent is a myth and no good parent ever said this. True or false?

• Society, the education system and parenting have, for some, become too authoritative. Do you agree that children should be free to decide what is good for them, and that they should not be dictated to at school, and follow what makes them happy and what they're interested in.

  • Would you agree with deschooling in countries where political opinion and religious dogma is pushed on children?

  • Is unschooling too far?

A UNICEF report listed the characteristics in countries with the happiest children. Which three do you think would make children happier in your country. Which one is most important for you?
 

• a non-competitive school culture
• having parents who don’t work too hard
• reading a lot
• a strong sense of community
• gender equality
• the freedom to do what you want at a young age
• spending time outdoors
• not being a fussy eater
• being polite

The report showed that the top country for childhood happiness was the Netherlands.

• Read the title and first paragraph of an article about Dutch teenagers.
  • How are British and Dutch parents different in terms of their attitude to bringing up children?

• What features of Dutch upbringing and education are similar in your country?
• Are there any that you admire, and think would improve life for young people?

• The authors of the book, Matthias Doepke and  Fabrizio Zilibotti, ...
  a) Show that being the helicopter parent can have negative consequences.
  b) argue that children of helicopter parents do better in life
  c) say that the children on helicopter parents are better risk-takers
  
  
   
• According to the book, what is the main benefit of helicopter parenting?
• What aspect of how helicopter parents behave makes the biggest difference?

Listening 1: True or False. Listening 2: Evidence Given.

• Do you agree with the points made in the audio?

• Which of the activities below were you allowed to do without adult supervision as a child? What are the pros and cons of letting children do them?

  • walking or cycling to school or the local shops
  • travelling on public transport
  • playing in the street / a playground / a park / woods or fields

Social media firestorm over free-range kids

• What happened? Do you believe the mother's account of events? Is she irresponsible?

• Do you believe children should be allowed more freedom to roam the streets alone, etc.

  • Have parenting norms in recent years become too strict? Is it because of safety concerns or lack of trust?

• You see a young child walking alone in your neighborhood. Do you intervene or call the authorities?

  • Was there a time when you, or someone you know, faced criticism for a parenting decision? Was there a resolution?

• Discursive, not argumentative essay.

• Error correction

• All children should be brought up in a gender-neutral way for the first two years of their lives.

• Schools should adopt a gender neutral approach to education in the early years.