Childhood Conversation Questions

Warm-up Question:
Where did you grow up?
ESL Conversation Questions:
1. Did you enjoy your childhood?
2. Which is better out of being a child and being an adult?
3. What’s your happiest memory from childhood?
4. As a child, did your family mainly stay in one place or did you move around
a lot? Either way, how did that affect you?
5. Did you have other children to play with? Who did you usually play with as
a child?
6. Children have powerful imaginations. Can you recall any imaginary games
or friends from childhood?
7. Children can be scared of many things, real or imagined. Were you
frightened by anything as a child?
8. Did you have a favorite toy or toy series? What was it?
9. Do you still have any toys from childhood? If so, where are they? If not,
where did they go?
10. Did you often play outside or did you prefer to stay inside?
11. Did enjoy reading as a child? What kind of books did you read?
12. Were you usually with your mother and father, or did you have other
caregivers? Who looked after you?
13. How old is a child when we can no longer call him or her a baby?
14. At what age does a child become an adult?
15. Children often mimic adult behavior. Did you ever pretend to be a grown-
up?
16. Did you get in trouble often? What kind of mischief did you get up to?
17. What chores did you have to do? Were you diligent at getting your chores
done? Or did your parents have to nag you?
18. Did you receive pocket money when you were a kid? If so, what did you use
to spend that money on?
19. Do you have any vivid memories from early childhood? If so, what can you
remember? For example, do you remember your first day at school?
Q: What is your most vivid childhood memory?
A: I remember going out walking with my friends one day. We often used to go walking
in the countryside near my home, and this time we walked really far over the fields. It
started to rain really heavily, so we hid under a big tree, but then there was a
thunderstorm, and you really shouldn’t stay under a tree when there’s lightning. It was
really scary.
Q: Are you still in touch with your childhood friends?
A: Not really, no. We drifted apart over the years. I still get together with my best friend
from primary school maybe once every year or two, but that’s all. I suppose I see what
people are up to on Facebook.
Q: What was your favourite toy when you were a child?
A: Hmm… Let me think… I was really into dinosaurs when I was a child, I suppose my
favourite toy would have been a dinosaur. Honestly, though, I can’t remember that
much.
Q: Is it important for children to have fun? Why?
A: Well, yes, of course. As you get older, life tends to get more and more stressful.
There are so many social and economic pressures that trouble us, so I think people
should be allowed to enjoy their childhoods. I mean, just look at children. They are so
innocent and carefree by their nature. Why should we spoil for them? Let them have
fun.
Q: Do you think people often idealise their childhoods?
A: Of course. I think that most people look back on their own childhoods with a sense
of nostalgia. They remember that sense of innocence and freedom that they had, and
how much that has been lost in adulthood. They also tend to look at today’s youth and
feel that their own childhood was somehow better because they are now so detached
from modern young people.
Q: How does a person’s childhood influence what kind of adult they become?
A: Well, it probably influences them in many ways, some of which are subtle and some
obvious. For one example, if you have a happy, healthy childhood, you are probably
more likely to become a well-adjusted adult. However, if you were subjected to bullying
and abuse, you may replicate that behaviour as an adult.
Q: When does a child become an adult in your view?
A: Oh wow, that’s a difficult question. I suppose legally we are adults at 16 in my
country, but more traditionally you are an adult at 21. For some things, you are also
considered an adult at 18. However, I think growing into adulthood is more complex
and inexact process. Some people mature very early and others very late, and there is
probably no point at which any person could be said to have switched from childhood to
adulthood.
 Childhood
Newborn – новонароджений
Infant – до 1 року
Toddler – 1-3 роки
Preschooler – 3-5 років
Teenager / adolescent – 13-19 років
Adult – дорослий

 I was born in …. - Я народився в ….

My Mum gave birth to me …. – мама народила мене ….
to be named after – назвати на честь
to grow up – рости, дорослішати
to be brought up by parents - виховуватись батьками
My parents brought me up to be a good man
To tuck me in – вкладати спати
to be well-brought up – бути вихованим
To be spoiled/spoilt – бути розпещеним, балуваним
To be naughty  / To be badly behaved - бути неслухняним
To have good manners To be badly behaved -– бути неслухняниммати гарні манери, бути
вихованим
To be well-behaved - бути слухняним
To tell me off - вичитувати
To punish – наказувати
grow out of – перерости
to be (financially) comfortable but not really well off, (rich or /wealthy) – бути (фінансово)
забезпеченим (багатим)
to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth – народитись в сорочці, народитись під
щасливою зіркою
to be full of beans – бути енергійним
to look up to smb – рівнятись, захоплюватись кимось
to look after – приглядувати за кимось
to be a swot - бути зубрилою
to be a teacher’s pet – бути улюбленцем вчителів
to get on with – ладити з
to stand up for (yourself) – постояти за (себе)
peer pressure – тиск з боку однолітків
to learn about one's identity – дізнатись більше про (свою) особистість
to be too good to be true – занадто добре щоб бути правдою
to make (leave) a lasting impression on me – справити глибоке враження
to escape me – не мати можливість згадати (вислизати)
to take me back - переносити назад
vivid childhood memory – яскравий дитячий спогад
to be ahead of my time – випереджати свій час
Mature / to mature - дорослий (зрілий) / дорослішати
You are considered an adult at 18 – ти вважаєшся дорослим у 18 років.
To switch from childhood to adulthood – перейти від дитинства до дорослого життя
an acquaintance – знайомий
a fair-weather friend – не справжній друг
frenemy – заклятий друг
enemy – ворог
rival – суперник, конкурент