IELTS Vocabulary 8

Raising Children

Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage:

 

 

 

possessive

upbringing

permissive

rebelliousness

suppress

formative

run wild

inhibited

authoritarian

juvenile delinquency

adolescence

It is often said that we live in a …………(a)…………. age, one in which people are allowed to do almost anything they like. Is this good for children? They are going through their ………..(b)……….. which is a very ………(c)……… stage of their development since their final adult characters are beginning to take shape. Some parents think it is good for children to be allowed to …………..(d)………… without control or supervision. They say that this enables children’s personalities to develop naturally and that they will learn to be responsible by the mistakes they make. However, this might lead to ……………(e)………… with the children ending up in the courts, or it might simply make children self-centred, without any consideration for others. Other parents believe in being strict, but taken to extremes this can produce a too …………(f)……………. atmosphere in the home, with the children being dominated and ruled by their parents. Parents can also be very ……….(g)…….. and try to keep their children dependent on them. These last two attitudes can encourage …………..(h)………. (against parents, school, and authority) in a child, or, conversely ……….(i)…….. a child’s natural sense of adventure and curiosity. A strict ……….(j)………. by over-caring parents can make a child so timid and ………….(k)………… that he or she is unable to express freely his or her emotions and form mature relationships. To bring up children to be normal, well-adjusted human beings requires great wisdom, and perhaps a bit of luck.

Answers:

(a) permissive

(b) adolescence

(c) formative

(d) run wild

(e) juvenile delinquency

(f) authoritarian

(g) possessive

(h) rebelliousness

(i) suppress

(j) upbringing

(k) inhibited