Good Parenting- IELTS Reading Answers

The Reading Module of the IELTS can be the top-scoring category, with diligent practice. To achieve the best results in this section, you must understand how to approach and answer the different Question types in the Reading Module. By solving and reviewing Sample Reading Questions from past IELTS papers, you can ensure that your Reading skills are up to the mark.

Reading Passage

Good Parenting

Questions 27-30

27 The phrase ‘attachment parenting’ was invented by a ….

28 The principles of attachment parenting are derived from the discipline of……..

29 The key points of the ‘extinction’ school of thought originated from the work of……..

30 Dr. Ferber initially thought the parent should not spend the night with the child but now thinks

….. is all right.

Questions 31-35

NB You may use any letter more than once

31 After a strict bedtime schedule, the child is unattended till morning.

32 All crying is a vocalization of important needs.

33 Caregiver presence as the child drifts to sleep should decrease over time.

34 The emphasis is on the physical closeness between baby and caregiver at any time.

35 Well-fed babies should sleep through the night.

List of Parenting Methods 

A attachment parenting

B extinction

C graduated extinction

Questions 36-40

Attachment Parenting

very stressful as parents have to give in to 36……. of the baby

but not yet any

37 ….. to show that it works

Extinction Method

a good night’s sleep is attained by family members because the baby is 38….. and but can lead to

39 ………………such as despair & unhappiness later in life

Graduated Extinction

a central position so 40 …. have been avoided

Reading Answers 

27 Answer: PAEDIATRICIAN

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 2, the introductory line

Answer explanation: “Attachment parenting, a term coined by pediatrician William Sears, suggests that children form powerful emotional bonds with caregivers during early childhood that have implications for their development through life.” This suggests that the concept of Attachment Parenting was suggested by William Sears, a pediatrician.

28 Answer: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 3, lines 3-6

Answer explanation: “The basis for this theory was generated within the field of developmental psychology during the 1950s when researcher John Bowlby proposed that maternal deprivation during infancy could decrease a person’s ability to form healthy adult relationships years later.” This suggests that the theory of attachment parenting has been extracted from the field of developmental psychology.

29 Answer: ( EMMETT ) HOLT

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 3, lines 3-6

Answer explanation: “The core postulates of this approach were laid down by Emmett Holt but they have been extrapolated upon by authors such as Warwick Reilly and further adapted recently by Melinda Collins to form the extinction method of today.” This suggests that Emmett Holt was the key player to derive the points of Extinction Parenting.

30 Answer: CO-SLEEPING

Question type: Sentence completion

Answer location: Paragraph 4, lines 10-12

Answer explanation: “Ferber has since altered his stance to acknowledge the acceptability of co-sleeping and suggests that there is no single method or golden rule for overcoming sleep difficulties.” This suggests that although Ferber was of the belief that parents shouldn’t have to sleep with their kids in the process of Graduated Extinction Parenting, he acknowledged that co-sleeping is fine.

31 Answer: B

Question type: Matching features

Answer location: Paragraph 3, lines 5-8

Answer explanation: “Caregivers are encouraged to develop a gentle evening routine that involves feeding 45 minutes before bed, bathing, dressing and laying the baby in his sleeping sack, walking out and closing the door, and remaining out of the child’s presence until dawn even if he cries for extended periods of time.” This suggests that as per the extinction theory of parenting, it is ok to leave the baby unattended after following its dietary and sleeping schedule till it wakes up in the morning.

32 Answer: A

Question type: Matching features

Answer location: Paragraph 2, lines 8-12

Answer explanation: “Attachment parenting also suggests that babies’ ability to communicate their requirements is limited to crying and that parents need to learn to understand different types of crying signals. No crying is considered superfluous — even if the baby merely wants to be comforted rather than fall asleep —caregivers are encouraged to affirm these desires.” This suggests that in Attachment Parenting each and every cry of the baby should be well-attended to.

33 Answer: C

Question type: Matching features

Answer location: Paragraph 4, first five lines

Answer explanation: “Graduated extinction is a modulated version of the extinction method. It postulates that a process of learning needs to be undertaken in order for children to sleep through the night. Richard Ferber, the doctor who popularized this method in the 1980s, emphasized the progressive withdrawal of the caregiver’s company with the child in bed as a way to solve infant sleep problems.” This suggests that the baby needs to be given less attention by following the series of withdrawals and retreats.

34 Answer: A

Question type: Matching features

Answer location: Paragraph 2, lines 6-8

Answer explanation: “Attachment parenting seeks to avoid this tendency by placing great importance on childhood bonding through the caregiver’s holding and cuddling her baby when he is upset.” This states that Attachment Parenting advocates for close proximity with the baby and keen attention to the baby’s demands.

35 Answer: B

Question type: Matching features

Answer location: Paragraph 3, introductory lines

Answer explanation: “The extinction method proposes that, so long as a baby has had adequate calorie intake during the day, he or she can reasonably be expected to maintain nocturnal somnolence.” This suggests that as per the Extinction Theory of parenting, the baby is expected to sleep after it is adequately fed.

36 Answer: EVERY DEMAND

Question type: Notes completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, first three lines

Answer explanation: “Each of these systems has its critics. Attachment parenting, for example, is often held accused of being exceedingly strenuous and demanding for caregivers because they must be at the beck and call of their baby’s every demand.” This suggests that parents need to be present at every demand of the baby.

37 Answer: CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH

Question type: Notes completion

Answer location: Paragraph 5, last lines

Answer explanation: “ Critics also point out the absence of conclusive research behind the efficacy of attachment parenting.” This suggests that there is no conclusive or plausible research that holds the practicality of attachment parenting.

38 Answer: DETACHED ( AND ) APATHETIC

Question type: Notes completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6. First three lines

Answer explanation: “Many disapprove of the extinction method because, while it may allow a quiet night’s sleep for baby and caregiver and anyone else in the household, it is not because the baby has become settled and comfortable but rather for the reason that he has become detached and apathetic.” This suggests that the baby could be driven detached and apathetic in the princess of extinction parenting.

39 Answer: EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS

Question type: Notes completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, lines 4-5

Answer explanation: “This, it is suggested, can lead to various emotional problems in early adulthood among which might be depression and insecurity.” This emphasizes the point that a baby is vulnerable in case its cries and calls/demands are left unattended. This parenting may lead the baby to grow insensitive and hence may have emotional problems in the future.

40 Answer: VOCIFEROUS ATTACKS

Question type: Notes completion

Answer location: Paragraph 6, lines 5-6

Answer explanation: “At the mid-point on the spectrum is graduated extinction, which has, therefore, dodged any vociferous attacks.” This suggests that the Graduate Extinction way of parenting reduces the chances of being vociferously attacked by the critics as it provides a mid-way of parenting.