IELTS Cue Card Exam Topics on Children

It was an 8-year-old girl called Nina who is my best friend’s neighbor’s daughter. So, this happened a couple of months ago when I spent the weekend with Sumie, my friend. Nina came over one afternoon as it was a Saturday and she didn’t have school.

I noticed that she was struggling with her math homework and had tears in her eyes. She’s a sensitive kid who doesn’t like asking for help but prefers doing things by herself. So, I went over to her and saw that she seemed stuck with multiplication, something like 53 into 64. Her answer just wouldn’t match that of the calculator no matter how much she tried. I observed her and realized that she was doing it wrong. I then showed her how to do the “carry over” and “minus” thing. It seemed like her teacher had explained it the wrong way. She was initially skeptical to try out my method but when she saw the exact same answer flash across the calculator screen, she was reassured. So she tried my method and within minutes, was doing it right!

Of course, I felt elated just watching her eyes light up each time she got it right. She proactively decided to try out 3- digit multiplication even before her teacher taught it in class, and shocked me with her accuracy and speed. 673 x 297?  No problem, Nina was doing it! Later, I got to know that she was scoring the highest marks in math. For sure, this was one of those unforgettable feel-good moments in my life!

I am going to talk about a time a saw a child misbehaving at a grocery store. It was a different store than I normally go to. I went to the new store to pick some ingredients I needed for a new recipe I was trying. I was going to check out when I heard a screeching. I looked in its direction and that’s where I saw the child.

The child was crying profusely and I struggled to understand why, until I saw his mom put a pack of sweets back on the shelf. The child wept very loudly but was not getting the response he was looking for. He then decided to sit on the floor with big tears running down his cheeks. When he did not get his treat, he yelled even louder.

His mom did not give in to him at any point, and she did not raise her voice. She tried to have a rational talk with him very calmly, despite his yelling. I think she chose not to shout as it would have given him attention and encouragement to continue screaming. Instead, she decided to set the tone of the conversation and bring down the level of noise. When she saw it wasn’t working, she got down on her knees and looked him in his eyes. I am not sure what she said to him, as she continued to speak quietly, but the child seemed to gradually calm down.

I felt very distressed when I first heard the child scream, because it was so unexpected. I don’t think that he should have thrown such a fit about it, but I always feel bad for children who cry. I can’t help it!