General Listening Quiz

What are some of the greatest challenges that face parents when raising children in today’s world? What are some specific challenges or issues dealing with child rearing that are unique to your culture or part of the world (e.g., education, freedom, religion, dress, discipline, etc.)

1. 1. Children should have strict rules at home to grow up well.
   2. Parents should always let children make their own decisions.
   3. Technology (phones, tablets, video games) is harming children today.
   4. Parents should focus more on emotional support than academic success.
   5. Children learn better from mistakes than from guidance.
   6. Discipline should always be consistent, no matter the situation.
   7. Working parents can raise children just as well as stay-at-home parents.
   8. Children should be shielded from adult problems.
   9. Parents should spend more time teaching life skills than supervising schoolwork.
   10. Modern parenting is too focused on making children happy instead of teaching responsibility.

“Rack your brains” = think very hard
“We racked our brains all weekend trying to come up with a solution to our problem.”

“horse around” = play around in a silly, improper, or lazy manner
“Sometimes, my kids just horse around and don’t get their chores done.”

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Here are some words that appear in the recording:

• had better (modal of advice): similar to “should,” but somewhat stronger. There could be negative consequences if the advice or suggestion is not followed.
  – You‘d better see a doctor before your condition takes a turn for the worse.
• fail (verb): not pass
  – You will fail the test if you don’t sit down and study.
• wreck (verb; also noun): crash or destroy
  – You’re going to wreck your parents’ car if you keep driving like this.
• post (verb): put up something in writing on a wall or online
  – I posted a funny message on her Facebook page this morning.

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

• Mixed-Up Sentence  | Multiple-Choice Questions  |   Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

Parenting is one job people take on without any experience. It is not like working at a restaurant. Therefore, in what ways can new parents prepare for the new adventure as parents? What challenges do parents face in raising and caring for new infants, toddlers, teenagers, and even adult children?

Use the internet to find three specific suggestions on raising and understanding teenagers. Do you think that these recommendations are applicable to all situations, families, and nationalities? Why or why not?