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Describe a time you saw children behave badly in public: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • Where was it?
  • What were the children doing?
  • How do others react to it?
  • And explain how you feel about it.
Show all 151 answers

Cue 1:Where was it?

  • Begin by describing the location where you witnessed the children's behavior, making it relatable and vivid.
  • Mention any specific details about the environment that contributed to the situation.

Example

I was at a busy shopping mall in Mumbai last summer, a place filled with families and children enjoying their day out. The mall was bustling with activity, and the atmosphere was lively, with music playing and people chatting.

Cue 2:What were the children doing?

  • Clearly explain the actions of the children that you considered to be bad behavior.
  • Provide specific examples of what they did that stood out to you.

Example

While I was waiting for my friend near a toy store, I noticed a group of three children, probably around 7 to 10 years old. They were running around, shouting loudly, and even knocking over some displays. At one point, one of them threw a toy at another child, which was quite alarming.

Cue 3:How do others react to it?

  • Describe the reactions of the adults and other children around the situation.
  • Mention if anyone intervened or if people just ignored the behavior.

Example

The adults around seemed quite shocked. Some parents looked at their children with concern, while others just shook their heads in disapproval. A store employee approached the group and asked them to calm down, but the children just laughed and continued their antics.

Cue 4:And explain how you feel about it.

  • Share your personal feelings about the situation, whether you found it amusing, concerning, or frustrating.
  • Reflect on what this behavior might indicate about parenting or social norms.

Example

I felt a mix of frustration and concern. It was troubling to see such behavior in public, as it reflects a lack of discipline. I wondered if the parents were aware of how their children were acting. I believe that children need guidance on how to behave in public spaces.

Conclusion

    Example

    In conclusion, witnessing children behave badly in public can be quite unsettling. It serves as a reminder of the importance of teaching children proper behavior and respect for others in shared spaces. Such experiences highlight the role of parents and society in shaping children's conduct.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your answer unclear. Candidates often fail to provide specific details about the situation, which can lead to a lack of engagement from the examiner.

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    Tip

    Include specific details about the location, actions of the children, and the reactions of others to create a vivid picture.

    2: Neglecting Personal Feelings

    Not expressing your personal feelings about the situation can make your response less engaging. Candidates often forget to share their emotional reactions, which are important for a complete answer.

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    Tip

    Reflect on how the behavior affected you and share your feelings to add depth to your response.

    Ignoring Others' Reactions

    Failing to mention how others reacted can leave your answer incomplete. Candidates sometimes focus only on the children and miss the broader context of the situation.

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    Tip

    Describe how bystanders or parents reacted to the children's behavior to provide a fuller picture of the event.

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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6-7

    Have you ever walked into someone's house and the air just felt different? It wasn't an expensive plan. I remember an instance where a young child came into my dental practice who behaved very badly. He is around 5 years old 5 years old and displayed a difficult behavior The child was accompanied by their parent for a dental routine checkup but as soon as they saw the dental chair and equipment they became anxious and refused to sit down They clung to their parent, crying with shaking their head unwilling to even open their mouth Instead of forcing the situation, I took a calm approach I knelt down to their level and introduced myself in a friendly manner and explained everything in simple terms I showed them the instruments one by one, letting them to touch and hold a harmless mirror to ease their fears This is very engaging I turned it into a game, asking them to count their teeth with me Gradually, they felt more comfortable and finally agreed to sit in the chair allowing me to proceed with the checkup

    Band 6-7

    Children not behaving properly is an example of bad parenting. It's very crucial for parents to teach their children good manners and importance of values. I remember, I recall the time when I was in a park and there were a few kids playing in the ground. One of them was getting bullied by the other kids. And they were fighting and quarreling over some minor issues which wasn't even important, wasn't very good. Then the people around them didn't give any thoughts on stopping them or making them stop. And the fight was inevitably growing. And then they started hitting each other which was not a good scene in a park with kids. People then came to help the kids and separated them with each other and asked for their parents. This gives us a lesson that what's important to you right now may not be important for you tomorrow. And the parents need to teach their young ones very early about all these values and what's right and wrong, what's good and what's bad.

    Band 6-7

    Recently I have visited a park where I saw children were playing in the playing zone. So I went there with my nephew. So I saw there a small child started to bully everyone, started to bully other children who were playing there by troubling them like pulling their hairs and not letting them to play the seesaw, was not letting them to play the games there. Although he was doing such bad things, his parents were sitting just scrolling the phone not telling anything to them. Even public, the other parents were, even the other parents were not really telling them anything, not even scrolling. Some parents do scold them, but others didn't scold him much. They took their child and left the park. So I felt bit weird and I asked them to stop it and I even scolded him. Then their parents came and asked what happened and all. Then I explained them about the situation. So they asked me sorry and they took him with them. So I felt parents should be more responsible when they bring their children to park. So it's their responsibility to look after that child. So it's their responsibility to look after the child. If he is behaving badly.

    Band 6-7

    There was a time when me and my friend were with my little niece in the park and we saw children fighting over who gets to sit on the little swing that they had over there. It was a round swing with around five to six seats on it. And there was this little girl, I'm guessing she was probably from their class, and she wanted to play. And she got there first. And so they were all bullying her, telling her to move away, and she did not know what to do. I'm guessing she wasn't with a parent. She just went out to play with her friends or something, but I'm guessing her friends left her. And so I saw this little girl standing and crying amidst all these people who are, let's say three to four years older than her. They probably all go to the same school together. But it was so, so disturbing to watch them just bully that girl and no one coming up to her, standing up for her, or talking to them, backing them off and trying to console her. So me and my friend, we just went over there and my friend just took the girl to the side by the tree. She was sitting there with the girl and I decided to talk to the guys, asking them what went wrong. Why were they behaving that way with the little girl? She did not deserve that. They should be kinder to people and I just started explaining to them about how there's so much wrong in, you know, not being nice to people and I don't think they quite got that. But they did look a little annoyed after a little while and I made them apologize to the little girl because she did not deserve that, even if they did not ever want to play with her. And I told her to not come to this place without anybody else, like have a parent or an older sibling, someone with you all the time and I think she liked it.

    Band 6-7

    As a social media content creator, I visit different places for work. In 2019, I went to Maldives for filming a short film. I was having my lunch and a child came up to me and asked for tissue paper. I was not having tissue paper at that point of time, so I told him he could get it from the receptionist or the counter down there. But he started acting strange and shouting. His mother came to me and apologized for his behavior, but I was shocked by the child behaving so strange. So I went up to the child and told him that it is not good to talk to strangers in that tone and he should behave in a well mannered behavior. I gave him a chocolate and he apologized to me and we were good then. But the next time I returned to Maldives, the same child came up to me saying that he remembered all the things that he said to me and it was not appropriate. So he apologized to me again by giving me a letter with a cute bouquet. I was very happy seeing the small gesture made by the boy. I gave him a lot of cookies and chocolates I had in my bag. We had dinner together that night and he was happy to be my friend.

    Band 6-7

    So just recently about last week I had gone to this restaurant. I wouldn't say it's a restaurant it's actually a roadside cafe kind of a place where I was going to meet a friend of mine. So we actually met we sat down we gave our order and we were waiting for our food to come and that is when a mom and her child came and sat behind us. So the two of us were talking and suddenly we start hearing you know the mother screaming at the kid and we're wondering what is going on.

    Band 6-7

    There was a memorable instance that I recall when I saw some children behave badly in public. So, I went to the park with my friends a few months back. And we went there to play our regular badminton sports. We go there every evening and that day I saw some students playing and swinging in the rides. But after a while I saw a few of the children who were fighting with each other, shoving and pushing each other off the rides. And everyone surrounding them were surprised but did not want to get involved. It was very daunting and I tried calmly managing the situation. I tried consoling them and making them realize about the behavior and that fighting is wrong. We have to be kind towards each other. I believe children make mistakes and it is our job as adults to help them and support them as much as we can. And I applied the same principle with them. I called out the children, I assembled them in the group and I told them what they did was wrong. And I advised them to apologize to me.

    Band 6-7

    So, once I went to supermarket with my daughter and my nephew, both are younger than 10 years, almost 10 years old and they both started to fight with each other over toys I guess and at first I didn't notice but when I intervened, I found out that they both wanted the same toy. I really didn't understand the reason why they were angry because there were other toys as well but they wanted this particular toy. It was a very beautiful doll and started throwing things. I don't know what happened to them, they started throwing other toys all over the place. My reaction to it was, at first I really got angry on them but I noticed that at that age, a child has nothing else that they can respond. As a result, they have to show their anger as a result of which they start throwing things and do things that we will not like as parents. So, finally I got hold of the situation by convincing both of them to buy different toys and share them with each other. I guess that was a work well done and finally they started to understand that fighting over a single toy will not make them happy rather buying two different toys and enjoying it.

    Band 6-7

    So, I am going to narrate an incident that is somewhere related to children who are really addicted to electronic gadgets and social media and their parents are very much non-challenged about the type of behavior their children are being groomed into. So, I was traveling in a train, I was coming back from my mother's place along with my parents and I was sitting in a sleeper class and I saw a children, okay I am sorry. So, I am going to narrate an incident related to children who are very much addicted to electronic gadgets and social media these days instead of being present in the real life and somewhere this is related to their parents as well who don't care about this issue, about how much serious it can become in future. So, I was traveling in my train and coming back from my mother's place along with my parents. So, there was a child who was aged like 3 or 4, he was in school and he was shouting really badly to his mom that he wants to play a video game or something or he was asking for something which I am not sure of what exactly the thing was. So, his mom didn't tell him to stop and instead she just handed over the mobile phone and asked him to download his favorite video game and play it and the child stopped shouting. So, this is how parents have become nowadays to make the children stop screaming and just ignore the issue but they don't know how much dangerous it is, how much vulnerable children are to social media because they don't have the sense to understand what is right and what is wrong for them. So, I feel, I really feel bad because this is unlike how our childhood used to be, how our parents used to be, how much of a treatment we used to get when we were a child and now how much the children are getting it. So, this

    Band 6-7

    I recently completed my study and I am a BA graduate. During my BA training I saw that some students were behave to the teachers very badly. I don't know how they behave like this. They lack respect for the teachers. Teachers are the lighters. They give knowledge to us but the students who receive knowledge but they not respect the teachers. Teachers are the social engineer and they shape the nations but why students didn't get that knowledge. Once once a while I feel that they misuse the relationship between to the teacher. They used some bad words towards the teachers and humiliated them in public and for them this all are the jokes. When when I was a child my parents and my teachers let me to express ourself with a positive attitude but today's young generation lacks the respect, love, care for both parents and teachers. They live in social media. These should be changed. These should be changed. All the students should respect and admire teachers for their great effort. The future is bulls in the hands of the students so
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