Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public - IELTS Cue Card & Part 3 Questions with Sample Answers

The IELTS Cue Card ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’ gives you an opportunity to improve and focus on analytical thinking skills. This topic would help you to discuss parenting strategies, social responsibility, public behavior, and cultural expectations. By diving into the sample answers, you will improve your fluency and coherence by speaking in a structured manner while using vivid vocabulary to describe behavior and emotions. 

With this knowledge, you would be able to showcase your grammatical range through different sentence structures and score a band 8+ in the IELTS Exam. Using this Cue Card along with Part 3 questions would help you to become more spontaneous while speaking.

Band 8+ Strategies to ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’

To score a higher IELTS Band Score, you must show your proficiency in narrating an event, depicting an individual’s behaviour, analyzing the reasons for the action, and expressing your viewpoints with self-assurance. By utilizing tips, you can logically arrange your ideas seamlessly and incorporate relevant vocabulary. Below are some of the band 8+ strategies to structure your answer appropriately.

Want to learn how to score a band 9 in the IELTS Speaking Section? Check out the video below!

IELTS Speaking Cue Card Question on ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’

Sample Answer 1 for IELTS Speaking Cue Card on ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’

Kids are extremely pleasant at times and are one of the best stress-busters in one’s life. However, at times, kids can become highly turbulent and tempestuous and can give you a wish with their nuisance and vociferous attitude. One such experience when I saw some young kids having extremely abhorrent behaviour toward others was when I was travelling to another city through a coach and what I saw was not pleasant to the eyes.

So, while travelling to a city where I work from my hometown, I boarded a coach and there were three beautiful kids. But, my perception got upside down when I saw the kids remitting their true colours. There were barely 20 minutes past our journey when I saw them throwing the food and snacks here and there and jumping on the berths of the coach. Moreover, they were shrieking at the top of their voices and took the whole coach by the storm.

People were very queasy and uncomfortable about the whole chaos they created and it didn’t go down with anyone in the coach. An old couple was clearly seen getting unnerved at the clamour caused by the students and I felt so bad about it. We all tried to stop them at our best. However, they didn’t pay any heed to it.

I honestly felt so ghastly about all of this and thought how important it is to impart a good upbringing to children as they are the ones who would turn out to be adults.

Sample Answer 2 for IELTS Speaking Cue Card on ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’

One incident that I can't forget took place around two months back in a big supermarket that is close to my house. I went there in the evening to purchase some groceries and since it was a weekend, the place was heaving with activities.

While I was passing through the aisle for snacks, I saw two children who were six or seven years old. The kids were circling frantically around the aisle, snatching packets of chips from the shelves, and tossing them onto the ground. One of them even started banging the shelves with a shopping cart, which not only made a noise but also led to a few items falling down.

The spectators were so agitated with this situation that some of them even moved away from them to be safe while the rest looked at each other in annoyance. The employees were irritated but they didn't try to do anything as they might be upsetting the parents who were utterly engrossed in their smartphones. They seemed to be completely oblivious to the mayhem their children were causing.

At that time, I did not blame the kids but I was disappointed with the parents who were not taking any notice of the situation their kids were causing. It struck me how much supervision and discipline a parent should provide to a child, especially in public places. I also felt a little compassion for the staff who had to deal with the mess afterwards.

The event made me realize that without any supervision and a set limit, kids can be very disruptive and such incidents can easily affect the surrounding audience.

Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking Cue Card on ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’

• Tempestuous

Meaning: loud and disturbing
Eg.: The people over there are very tempestuous.

• Abhorrent

Meaning: hateful
Eg.: Leonardo’s behaviour is extremely abhorrent.

• Queasy

Meaning: uneasy
Eg.: I got sick and queasy looking at that scene.

• Unnerved

Meaning: extremely uncomfortable
Eg.: Looking at the warriors getting unnerved made the king hopeless.

• Heaving

Meaning: crowded and busy
Eg.: The railway station was heaving at the peak of the morning rush hour.

• Agitated

Meaning: feeling of anxiety, being upset, or showing disturbance
Eg.: He got agitated after finding out that her passport was lost.

• Engrossed

Meaning: involved to the fullest in an activity and not paying any attention to anything else
Eg.: He was so engrossed in the book that he did not notice his phone ringing.

• Oblivious

Meaning: not aware at all of something happening around
Eg.: The driver was oblivious of the long line that was forming behind his car.

• Mayhem

Meaning: chaotic, noisy, or violent
Eg.: The fire alarm going off unexpectedly set off instant mayhem in the building.

• Compassion

Meaning: deeply sympathetic and concerned for the suffering of others
Eg.: The nurse was showing true compassion to all patients, regardless of how busy she was.

IELTS Speaking Part 3 Questions on ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’

After attempting the cue card of describing a situation from your personal experience, you will be required to answer on wider issues like parenting styles, punishment, social conduct, and the impact of lifestyles on children in the IELTS Speaking Part 3. This section will assess your ability to state your opinion, justify it, and compare ideas. Below are some of the Part 3 questions on the topic ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’  which will help you to frame strong arguments, use advanced vocabulary usage, and speak coherently.

• What are some of the reasons for bad public behaviour of some children?

Well, one major reason could be a lack of supervision. Most of the time, the way children misbehave is to get attention or an indication of being bored. Sometimes, parents are occupied in activities where the kids take advantage of the situation to exert their wills. Moreover, children today are usually overstimulated by the screens at home that they tend to misbehave when they are out.

• In your opinion, should parents be blamed for their children's behaviour in public?

I don’t think so but they do have a significant impact. Even though parents are not able to control each and every small move of their kid, their duty is to instill good manners. However, kids are not predictable and even those who behave well may show signs of misbehaviour at times. Therefore, it is a co-shared duty where parental guidance does make a difference in the long run.

• How can parents teach children good manners in public places?

Parents can set good examples for their children who tend to pick up cues from watching the adults in their vicinity. I feel that positive reinforcement techniques like complimenting children for good behaviour can work wonders while constant scolding may turn out to be less effective. All in all, patience and consistency lead to long-lasting changes.

• In your opinion, are today’s children better or worse behaved than those in the past?

To some extent, I think that children are better informed and more communicative now, but their behaviour can be more difficult at times. This could be due to the use of electronic devices which has made their lives difficult as they might lack the virtue of patience and self-control. In fact, children were more disciplined back then since they lived in an environment with stricter family values. However, many opine that today's parenting fosters open communication which could also mean negatively if the boundaries are not set right.

• Do you think that it is the responsibility of the schools to teach children how to behave properly in public?

Undoubtedly, yes! Schools can help individuals in the process of becoming disciplined and learning social norms. Academic rules, teamwork, and empathy lessons are some of the methods that promote the understanding of the ability to respect others. By supporting social etiquette and schools' social skills, children can become more prepared for interactions outside their home.

Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking Part 3 on ‘Describe a Time You Saw Children Behave Badly in Public’

• Exert

Meaning: power, influence, or effort
Eg.: Finishing the marathon was her achievement where she had to exert all her energy for it.

• Instill

Meaning: a habit which becomes part of someone's character
Eg.: It is the parents' responsibility to instill good values in their children right from the start.

• Vicinity

Meaning: surrounding area of a place
Eg.: The vicinity of the train station is surrounded by a number of good restaurants.

• Opine

Meaning: give one's opinion
Eg.: She opined in the meeting that before making a decision more research was required.

• Foster

Meaning: promote the development of something
Eg.: One of the teacher's duties is to foster creativity and curiosity in the students.

• Etiquette 

Meaning: the usual code of courteous conduct in society
Eg.: During formal dinners, good table etiquette is a must.

Remember to note the progress while practising with topics in Cue Cards and Part 3 questions. Try to compare your responses with the sample answers to understand the methods of brainstorming better ideas while keeping the flow intact and using advanced vocabulary. Such analysis in the IELTS Exam will help you in your fluency, clarity and confidence to achieve a band 8+.

Related Cue Cards:

Also Check: 

• 10 Useful IELTS Speaking Tips to Impress the Examiner
• IELTS Speaking Recent Actual Tests with Suggested Answers for IELTS 2025
• 50 IELTS Speaking Part 3 Topics; Questions with Answers
• Useful Idioms for IELTS Speaking to Score Band 8.0+
• Ough Words With Pronunciation