How to talk about children: Common Expressions

Hi there. My name is Emma, and today we are going to do a vocabulary lesson, and we're

going to talk about children and childhood. So this vocabulary lesson is very good for

anyone who has children, anyone who knows children, who talk about children, and also

people who are doing the TOEFL and the IELTS exam. And the reason for the TOEFL and the

IELTS exam is for some of the questions, they may ask you maybe in the essay or in the speaking

part to talk about your childhood, or if you have children, to talk about your children.

So this vocabulary lesson can help you to get a higher score on the vocabulary component,

because you'll be using a little bit more challenging words and they will recognize that.

So let's get started. Sorry about the siren, guys. Okay. So, a common grammatical mistake

people make is they don't know when to use "child" and when to use "children". So, first

of all, "child" means one; one kid, one child. "Children" is two... Or sorry, "children",

two or more. Okay. So, my friend has three children. My other friend has just one child.

Okay?

Another thing I want you to note is the meaning of "childhood". So when we talk about "childhood",

we're talking about a period of time. A period of time when we were young, that's our childhood.

So the childhood is the period of time when you're a child.

All right, so let's look at some different types... Some of the different stages of childhood

and the terms we use for those. So, first of all, we have "infant". Okay? "Infant" is

a noun, and it's a synonym of "baby". It's just sort of like a higher way to say "baby".

"Infants tend to cry a lot." Just an example sentence of the word "infant".

So, after infant, the baby will get a bit bigger and it will become a "toddler". So,

a toddler, this is a noun, and it's usually around the ages of 1 to 2 years old. It's

a child who are... Who is between these ages. And usually toddlers, they're able to walk,

and they can talk. They say not maybe full sentences, but you know, they're about 1 to

2 years old. So we use the term "toddler" for this age.

Now, similar to toddler, we also sometimes talk about "the terrible twos". So this is

a common English expression, and we use it when we're talking about toddlers, because

toddlers often scream, they often cry, they often fight, maybe kick or hit, and so as

a result, parents often call this period of time: "The Terrible Twos". So, here's an example:

"When children hit the terrible twos, they cry a lot." Okay? Although I hear the terrible

twos really aren't that terrible, for parents who, you know, your children are growing,

maybe it won't be such a bad time.

Okay, next we have "pre-teen". So I've skipped a lot between here. You'll see that we've

jumped from 2 to 9-13. And the reason for that is, in general, after about 2 years old,

we just usually use the term "children", "child", "kid". You can also use the age, too. I have

an 8-year-old kid. I have a 3 year old. I have a 4 year old. So that's what we usually

use for the ages between 2 and 9.

So, after that, we get to pre-teen. So, "pre" means before. So before teenage years. This

is usually between 9 to 13 years old, these are pre-teens. And this is before a child

hits puberty. That's what "pre-teen" means. This is also a noun. We're talking about a person.

And then, finally, our last two definitions for the types: "adolescent" and "teenager".

These words are synonyms. They're for people between the ages of 13 and 19. So maybe you

have teenagers at home, maybe you have adolescents, maybe you are a teenager. We can also shorten

this. You will often hear the word "teen". Okay, so now we're going to learn some vocabulary

about what children do and what parents do.

So here are a couple vocabulary words that reflect... Well, they are things that children

do. So most of these are actions. Now, of course, children do a lot more things than

the three things I have here, but these are words you may not know. They're words that

can help you if you're doing TOEFL, IELTS, you know, they're a higher level word.

So, the first word we have is "crawl". "Crawl" is a verb and it's when children move, but

they're not walking, they're on their arms and their knees. They crawl across the floor.

So this is what babies do. So first, babies just lie there, then they crawl, and then

they learn how to walk. So we can say: "Most infants learn to crawl between 7-12 months."

Okay? So that's "crawl".

Next word: "temper tantrum". Okay? You can also use this for adults, although, this is

mainly what children do. This is actually a noun. But if we use the verb "throw", we

can say: "Throw a temper tantrum", so this is the phrase. And when a child throws a temper

tantrum, they pretty much go crazy. They start to cry, scream, kick, yell, hit. They lose

their minds. And I've seen some pretty bad temper tantrums. They're not fun things to

deal with. So you can also say this about an adult, although if an adult is throwing

a temper tantrum, you know, it's like saying they're just like a kid. They can't control

their emotions; they just go nuts. So that's "temper tantrum". And again, just to highlight

this, you throw a temper tantrum.

Okay, our next verb is: "tattle". So "tattle" is the verb, and "tattle" means when you tell

on someone. So somebody does something bad, and instead of keeping it to yourself, you

run... Or maybe a child runs up to his mom and says: "Mommy, mommy, you know, my brother

did this." So that's an example. When you try to get someone in trouble. So, for example:

"The boy tattled on his sister when she stole a pen." So the boy tried to get his sister

in trouble. He told maybe their mom. So it's when you tell someone something to get someone

in trouble. Okay?

And somebody who does this a lot, children call a "tattletale". So a "tattletale" is

someone who always runs to their parent, saying: "Mommy, mommy, this person did this, this

person did that", you know, always trying to get someone in trouble. So this is not

a nice thing to be called, especially when you're a kid. I used to be called this all

the time when I was a kid, because I was always the one who would run to my mom and tattle

on everyone. Okay, so now we are going to look at some key words parents... Well, key

things parents do.

Okay. So what do parents do? Well, one thing they do is they "discipline" their children.

So, "discipline" can be a verb or a noun, and it means... So some people have different

definitions of this. One definition is it means to teach children rules. Another definition,

some might say is to punish children. So you might hear "punishment", you might hear "to

teach children rules". And so let's look at an example. "I discipline my children with

time-outs." So one method of raising children is if they act bad... If they misbehave-sorry-parents

might make them sit down away from other children for 10 minutes. They're not allowed to play,

they're not allowed to do anything. That's a time-out. Maybe they have to sit in their

room. They're not allowed to do anything. That's a time out. So that's one form of discipline.

Another form of discipline may be "spanking", our next word. So "spank" is a verb, and it

means to hit a child on the butt. Okay? So, I... There's a big debate in North America

right now on whether or not spanking your kid is okay. Some people say yes, some people

say no. Well, I'll show you our example sentence. This is true. "When I was a kid, my mom used

to cry when she spanked us." So she felt so bad about it, she... It was always just a

little hit. You know, we didn't even feel anything, but we would always pretend to cry

to make her feel bad and to make her cry, actually. So we were not the nicest children,

but: "My mom used to cry when she spanked us."

Okay, another form of discipline that parents might use is "grounding". So "ground" is the

verb, "grounded" is the adjective. Okay? So what happens when you are grounded? It's a

form of punishment where you're not allowed to leave your house, you're not allowed sometimes

to leave your room. Your parents may take away your television, your computer, your

cellphone. So they... You know, you're allowed to go to school, but that's about it. Or maybe

church, if you go to church or a mosque, or wherever you go, but you're not allowed to

hang out with your friends, you're not allowed to go see movies. You're not allowed to do

fun things. So that's what happens when you are grounded. And so, if you watch North American

TV, you'll probably hear, if there's ever a TV show where there's a child and a parent,

at some point you'll probably hear these words: "You're grounded." Meaning you can't go out,

you're being punished. Okay?

And finally, the last word we have on this list is "raise". So not "rise", "raise" with

an "a", "ai". "Raise" is a verb and it means to take care of children, and to bring up

children, to teach children until they become adults. So you're looking at the period of

time from when they're children or even babies to adults, that period of time. It's when

the parents or guardians take care of the children. So, oftentimes, when parents talk,

they like their children to be a certain way, so they say: "I raised my son to be honest.",

"I raised my daughter to respect others.", "I raised my children to be hard-working."

So, you often hear parents say these sentences, especially as their children get older.

Okay, so I hope you've enjoyed this video. So, again, it's very important for people

who are doing the TOEFL, IELTS. If you get a question about childhood or children, you

can use any of these terms, and it may improve your vocabulary mark. This video's also good

for anyone with children.

So, I invite you to come to our website at www.engvid.com,

and you can practice out these words in our quiz.

So, until next time, take care.