A1 Level – Elementary
1. Did you have a happy childhood?
2. What is one rule you had as a child?
3. What makes a good parent?
4. Did you spend much time with your grandparents?
5. What is the difference between a child and a teenager?
6. What sport did you play as a child?
7. What makes a family close?
8. What is a common punishment for children?
9. Do you think early education is important?
10. What makes you feel nostalgic?
11. Do you think siblings should share everything?
12. What makes a child obedient?
13. What is the opposite of a strict parent?
14. What are some different family traditions?
15. Do you think your upbringing was unique?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the key differences between a permissive parenting style and an authoritative one?
2. Describe one habit or value from your childhood upbringing that you still practice today.
3. What are the pros and cons of being an only child versus having many siblings?
4. What role does financial stability play in providing a good childhood upbringing?
5. Have you ever realized that a belief taught in your childhood was incorrect?
6. What specific skills (e.g., cooking, financial literacy) do you wish you had learned earlier?
7. What is the difference between nature (genetics) and nurture (upbringing) in shaping personality?
8. What are common challenges when parents try to raise children in a culture different from their own?
9. How does technology (e.g., screen time) affect modern childhood development?
10. What are the biggest cultural differences in how respect for elders is taught?
11. What is the importance of having clear rules and consistent expectations in a family?
12. Do you think parents today are more anxious about their children’s upbringing than in the past?
13. What are the challenges of raising children in a rapidly changing technological world?
14. What are the best ways for adults to heal from negative early childhood experiences?
15. What is the difference between a traditional upbringing and a modern one?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the difficulty of choosing which values from your upbringing to keep and which to discard as an adult.
2. How can parents successfully teach resilience and independence without being overly hands-off?
3. What are the ethical issues surrounding social and legal pressure to choose one “correct” way to raise a child?
4. Do you agree that the primary function of upbringing is to prepare a person for economic survival?
5. Describe a time when a cultural difference in upbringing led to a humorous or awkward misunderstanding.
6. To what extent should parental control diminish as a child moves through their teenage years?
7. What role does storytelling, myths, and family history play in passing down cultural heritage?
8. How do cultural norms about gender roles influence the expectations placed on children during their upbringing?
9. Discuss the psychological challenge of accepting the flaws and limitations of your own parents’ upbringing style.
10. What are the challenges of raising children in a highly competitive academic environment?
11. How does the concept of “unconditional love” relate to a child’s psychological security and risk-taking?
12. Should mandatory parenting classes be offered or required for all new parents?
13. What is the difference between protecting a child and sheltering them from all adversity?
14. Discuss the concept of “intergenerational trauma”—how past experiences affect future upbringings.
15. What is the long-term impact of consistent, constructive parental feedback on a person’s adult self-esteem?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. How does economic inequality influence the quality of resources (e.g., education, enrichment) available during a child’s upbringing?
2. What are the ethical arguments about the immense financial and time investments required for “intensive parenting” (or “helicopter parenting”)?
3. Should the government provide universal, high-quality early childhood education to ensure a fair start for all children?
4. What are the psychological reasons why people often repeat the negative parenting patterns they experienced themselves?
5. How has the dominance of child-focused media and entertainment affected the creativity and independent play of children?
6. Discuss the idea that a truly good upbringing prepares a person to challenge, rather than conform to, societal norms.
7. What is the role of legal frameworks (e.g., child protection laws) in protecting a child from poor or abusive upbringing environments?
8. How do our cultural narratives about success and achievement create unhealthy pressure on children from a young age?
9. What are the challenges of raising bilingual or multilingual children in a predominantly monolingual society?
10. Discuss the concept of “attachment theory” and its focus on the importance of the early parent-child bond.
11. What is the difference between a child learning morality through explicit instruction and learning it through observation?
12. Should standardized tests be used to measure the quality of a child’s early development and school readiness?
13. What is the impact of divorce or blended families on a child’s sense of continuity and stability during their upbringing?
14. How does the history of child labor laws reflect the social evolution of what constitutes an acceptable childhood?
15. Discuss the idea that the entire concept of “upbringing” is culturally relative and cannot be universally judged.
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the socioeconomic factors that correlate with disparities in early cognitive development and school readiness across different demographics.
2. To what degree should the legal system restrict the ability of parents to use corporal punishment or highly restrictive control methods?
3. Discuss the philosophical concept of “original sin” versus “tabula rasa” and how these views inform different upbringing philosophies.
4. Evaluate the efficacy of technology (e.g., educational apps) in replacing or augmenting the primary role of the human parent/teacher.
5. How does the strategic use of emotional appeals and guilt function in some parenting styles to ensure obedience?
6. Examine the legal challenges of defining “neglect” or “abuse” when cultural norms about child-rearing vary widely.
7. What ethical guidelines should govern the use of genetic or predictive data in making decisions about a child’s educational path?
8. Discuss the concept of “social reproduction”—how parents’ socioeconomic status is often passed down despite meritocratic ideals.
9. How do different national policies on maternity/paternity leave and flexible work affect parental involvement in early upbringing?
10. Analyze the interplay between the increasing lifespan and the resulting challenge of young adults caring for their elderly parents.
11. What ethical challenges arise when new reproductive technologies (e.g., designer babies) give parents unprecedented control over their child’s traits?
12. Debate whether a system of state-controlled, standardized education is fairer than one based on parental choice and private tuition.
13. How does the architecture of residential spaces (e.g., lack of shared yards) restrict the traditional forms of unsupervised childhood play?
14. Discuss the concept of “epigenetics” and how environmental factors during upbringing can influence gene expression.
15. To what extent does the emotional commitment to preserving family tradition conflict with the child’s need for modern adaptation?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. How do you analyze the idea that every upbringing is fundamentally a form of social conditioning that limits genuine autonomy?
2. Formulate a critique of the psychological models that pathologize non-Western or non-traditional family structures as “deficient” upbringings.
3. Analyze the intersection of neuroscience, cognitive plasticity, and the impact of early environmental stimuli on long-term brain development.
4. Discuss the philosophical distinction between “discipline” (teaching self-control) and “punishment” (inflicting retribution) in child-rearing.
5. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of public interventions (e.g., family support programs) in mitigating the effects of highly adverse childhood experiences.
6. Propose a new societal model for child-rearing that systematically integrates community mentorship and peer support alongside parental guidance.
7. Examine the psychological function of shared family narratives and rituals in establishing a coherent, resilient personal identity.
8. How does the semiotics of family roles and dynamics communicate subtle, often unconscious, rules of power and interaction to a child?
9. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of media outlets in promoting realistic, diverse representations of family structures and parenting styles.
10. Analyze the historical relationship between cycles of economic instability and the corresponding delay in young adults forming their own families.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between the child’s right to privacy and the parent’s duty to protect their welfare during their upbringing.
12. Debate whether a future dominated by AI tutors and digital monitors will improve or degrade the quality of human-to-human early bonding.
13. Assess the long-term societal effects of widespread emotional neglect or hyper-parenting on national rates of anxiety and social engagement.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘responsibility’ when applied to the long-term consequences of parental choices on their adult children.
15. How might the principles of child development be used to model processes of organizational onboarding and cultural integration?
