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Childhood
Warm-up:
• Read the quote below. What do you think is the meaning behind it? Do you
know who the author is?
“I showed the grown ups my masterpiece, and I asked them if my drawing scared
them. They answered: ”Why be scared of a hat?" My drawing was not a picture of a
hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant.”
Reading:
It is a much pondered and discussed subject: your earliest childhood memory. For
some, it is their first bee sting or a formative interaction with a parent as a toddler. Others
claim to be able to recall lying in a pram. But how sure are you that you have actually
remembered this experience, rather than it being informed by photographs and family
anecdotes? A new study found that 40% of people believe they have a first memory dating
back to the age of two or earlier, including having a nappy changed or being in a pushchair.
Professor Martin Conway explained what fuels such fictional first memories: “This type of
memory could have resulted from someone saying something like ‘mother had a large green
pram’. The person then imagines what it would have looked like and these fragments
eventually become a memory.“
• Can you remember any specific things from your childhood clearly?
• Can you tell us about your favorite childhood memory?
Discussion:
• Where and when were you born? Where did you grow up?
• What did you look like?
• Do you remember anything about your personality?
• Were you afraid of anything? What?
• Is there anything you miss from when you were a child?
• Who took care of you when you were little? A parent? A grandparent? A nanny? A
daycare center?
• What childhood diseases did you have?
• What did you like to do when you were a child?
• What was your favorite toy?
• What were your favorite cartoons and TV shows?
• Did you play outside? Was it in any way dangerous?
• How old were you when you learned to ride a bicycle?
• Do you remember who taught you to ride a bicycle?
• Were you good at making friends?
• How did you meet your best friend? What did you do together? Do you still do
things with this childhood friend?
• Did you have any nickname? Tell us about it.
• What kind of food did you like? Would you eat anything or were you a picky eater?
• Is there any food you disliked as a child but like now?
• What did you like/dislike about school?
• When you were a child, what did you want to grow up to be? Did you want to be a
mother or father? A firefighter? A doctor? A scientist?
• Were your parents super protective?
• What was your worst punishment as a child?
• Do you think you had a happy childhood? How would you define a happy
childhood?
• In what way does childhood nowadays differ from when you were a child?
• What are the biggest challenges when raising a child these days?
• How are you similar to your parents? How are you different?
• Would you raise a child the same way you were raised? Why or why not? What
would you change?
Vocabulary:
to be grounded – mať domáce väzenie infant – dojča
to become adult – dospieť nanny – opatrovateľka
development – vývin punishment – trest
to disobey – neposlúchať pushchair/pram – detský kočiar
childcare – starostlivosť o deti schoolchildren – školopovinné deti
imagination – predstavivosť to raise a child – vychovať dieťa
immature – nevyspelý, nezrelý upbringing – výchova
Notes:
