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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

    Recently, an incident happened in my society. It was in the evening time. The children were out playing in the common area that the society provides for children that would be open for playing. So, the incident was the children were using cuss words and bad words and started fighting with each other. Started blaming each other during their playing games. The people's reaction were not really surprising because in these days the parents would rather support their children in the public rather than correcting them. So, as expected the parents of the children appeared in the play area and took their children back to home and tried not to cause a scene in the public. However, my opinion on this matter would be parents really have to teach their children on public behavior and manners and should take a stand when their child is in a wrong path. And try to advise the child or even teach the child even though if it is a hard way to behave in the public and to bring in good manners this would really help the society as well.

    Band 6-7

    Recently I had gone to a mall for shopping with my friend and suddenly I saw two mothers with their children and like the children started behaving badly all of a sudden. They wanted a toy or something and they were screaming and yelling and crying that they want the toy very badly and they insisted that their mothers should buy the toy to them instantly. Mothers kept on explaining them that no this is not the right time and the toy is very expensive. Once you grow up I will buy this for you as this is not going to be of any use to you. It was I guess a robotic game which was above 9 years and these children were perhaps smaller than 9. So their mother tried to explain it to them that this does not belong to your age group and once you turn 9 I will ask your father to buy these games for you and tried to persuade them. But the children were very stubborn and headstrong and they insisted on buying that game. They were crying. One of them even lied down on the floor and insisted that he wants it just now. So this was quite disturbing. This kind of behavior actually was very disturbing. There were people all around and they had actually crowded watching the children misbehaving. I remember one of the old lady she just shouted at the mother that you cannot control your child. At this age the child is showing so many tantrums. What will happen to him when he grows up?

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about the time when I was in a restaurant and there were children eating nearby in the next tables. I saw two of these children behaving very badly and they also were misbehaving with their friends. These two children were running up and down the restaurant screaming and throwing tantrums. At that place I thought the parents should have intervened and given them an example of how to behave in public in restaurants where you don't disturb others, the next tables and be quiet and stay put in the place. But the parents were also not concerned about their children's behavior and they were laughing at their children, mostly they were also laughing with them. This made me think how society is reacting to children and their misbehavior and how it was in the past. are necessary to bring up strong youth and young children. This is vital since this discipline makes the nation strong.

    Band 6-7

    I remember a time when our children misbehaved badly in front of me in the public. That child was Mr. Mehta's son. His name is Divesh and at that time he was 8 years old. Actually, he was playing cricket and while playing cricket he went into so high aggression that he shouted at one of his teammates which was actually of much bigger age than him. Actually, his batting was poor but instead of taking the blame he just shouted upon one of his teammates. He has a lot of anger issues. I know the anger issues are common nowadays but still the anger he showed was not normal. His words were very harsh. Instead of just talking and advising he shouted at the senior member who was the captain. The captain even helped him a lot during his workings, during his captaincy but still he failed to give him the credit and instead of giving credit he shouted against him. The main reason of shouting was his poor performance but instead of taking guidance he just shouted upon him. He is a very short tempered guy. Actually, he eats a lot of fast food due to which he has a problem of high blood pressure. He cannot control his anger. I have seen that he quite often shouts against his parents due to which he gets regular scoldings from his parents. This was the common.

    Band 6-7

    I would like to talk about my friend's son named Krishan. We went to shopping last week and her child was also with her. I would like to talk about an incident where he was very curious to buy a new toy but his mother refused to buy that toy because he has a similar toy at home. When she denied buying that toy, he started crying vigorously and started rolling on the floor. Everyone got surprised. His mother felt very ashamed and she very difficultly managed that situation. Later she found out that it was due to the involvement of children older than him. He used to play along with some students of his school in the break time and they asked him to do naughty tasks which he ended up doing in the real time. After she found out that the reason behind why he is getting naughty day by day, he stopped her son from talking to those children and soon after that,

    Band 6-7

    last time I went grocery shopping with my mother I noticed a child who was behaving very rudely with her parents the girl was a child of eight to ten years old and she wanted her parents to buy her a mini toy car but her parents said no as she had plenty of that of those cars in her home at her home but she continued nagging her parents and wanting to buy that when her parents asked her not to throw any tantrums anymore or scolded her she began yelling at her parents the overall outlook was very bad people surrounding her were talking behind her back about how rude she was and how the new generation has been destroyed because they do not have any patience and they do not listen to their parents I felt kind of bad because it started describing our generation which is not true for everybody

    Band 6-7

    I usually have tea in a shop which is closer to my office. One day, I have found a girl is begging to the people who comes to the shop. If someone is not ready to give some money or things, that kid is using some unprofessional words against them, where I found unusual. Then I went to the kid and asked about her age, family and about her schooling. Instead of answering my questions, she asked me that what she will get back from me if she responds to my questions. I got shocked. I felt really bad for that kid, how it's going to survive in this society. It's not her fault. Maybe due to situation or by her family, she is in a position that she needs help from the society. Instead, blaming the people who is not ready to support her. She has to start learning how to improve her life from its current situation. Then I searched her parents, but I could not able to find.

    Band 6-7

    The values children gain from their parents describes their growth and the kind of personality they get from their parents. So there is this one time which I particularly feel sad about where I saw children behaving rudely to each other in a public space. So it was a setting of a school and I was working there as a medical officer or I would say I was there as a doctor and there were these two children which I was seeing from the playground itself. So one of the children, they were playing football in the playground and thereafter I saw one of them teasing another on the basis of the football only because he considered himself as a senior. While it was all boys school so they didn't realize that this was the norm and one of the children hit another with a stone and thereafter another child retaliated with another stone which injured the child. They started abusing each other, they started slapping each other. So thereafter the physical education teacher started running off to the ground and they immediately stopped the fight. The others like the principal, the teachers immediately running here and there to see if there are any injuries including me because I was a doctor so I had to treat them. There was an injury in the forehead of one of the children and I felt really sad about it that there was this injury being caused by some other people. I mean if it's okay that somebody is starting teasing you, you don't have to retaliate back. It's fine that you could have complained as well.

    Band 6-7

    I was in my hometown in Narno. I saw a child misbehaving with people. Basically I was coming from a trip with my family. And I come out of the car and suddenly a child come and... grab my leg. I think... I get afraid and all people are staring at me, start staring at me and I think it is a very... I think it is a very oops moment with me. Everyone was watching me but no one is saying that... took off her hand, off her legs. I think parents should teach their children not to touch someone without their permission. Or we should tell our children to respect someone's privacy, someone's personal space. We should teach our children basic civic sense I think. It is very important to tell the children that you can't behave like this in the public or you can't do these things in public. You have to respect someone's boundary. I think we should have classes on civic sense in India. I think so. I think maybe if the children asking for something, he should ask from words not by hand.

    Band 6-7

    Recently when I visited market place, I saw some of the children behaving badly with the public. It was late at night and I was to get some medicines for my child, so I visited the market place. But what I found was really very disturbing. The children were standing near a wine shop. Some of them were girls also, they were having wine and smoking. Then they were abusing the public around. The public was looking at them angrily. Some of the people were afraid from their behavior. Everything was very disturbing till the police came and the order was restored. They were incessantly drunk and some of them were creating scenes on road. It took some time to restore order till the police carried all of them to their homes. This was really a very disturbing state of affairs and it is very much required that parents should teach their kids to behave in a proper fashion whilst being at public places.
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