Conversations / Childhood
Childhood Conversation Questions for Adult ESL Classes
Use these 20 discussion questions about Childhood to run a full speaking lesson with adult learners (B1–B2). Each part opens with a vocabulary warm-up, every question is labelled with the thinking skill it practises, and each part fills roughly thirty minutes of class time on its own.
Reviewed by Brando Oxley · 13 Aug 2026
Part 1
Childhood Memories and Growing Up
Focus: sharing childhood memories, comparing experiences, discussing family life, school, play, and changes between generations
In one minute, think of two childhood games or toys, two activities children do, two people or places connected to childhood, and one common childhood feeling.
EXPERIENCE
What is one childhood memory that you still remember very clearly?
DESCRIBE
What were you like as a child in terms of personality, interests, or behavior?
PREFERENCE
What activities or games did you enjoy most when you were young?
PEOPLE
Who had the biggest influence on you during your childhood, and how?
COMPARE
How was your childhood different from the childhood children experience today?
SCHOOL
What did you enjoy most and least about school when you were a child?
REFLECT
What is something you believed as a child that seems funny or strange to you now?
CULTURE
What childhood traditions, games, or celebrations are common in your country?
EVALUATE
Do you think children today have more opportunities than children had in the past? Explain your view.
REFLECT
What lesson from your childhood has remained useful in your adult life?
Part 2
Parenting, Independence, and Modern Childhood
Focus: discussing rules, independence, technology, education, responsibilities, and what children need while growing up
Choose one word from each category: Person: child, parent, teacher, friend; Action: learn, play, argue, help; Place: home, school, playground, park; Feeling: excited, nervous, curious, proud. Use your four words to describe a short scene in two or three sentences.
DISCUSS
What do children need most in order to have a happy and healthy childhood?
COMPARE
How are the rules parents give children today different from the rules you had when you were young?
EVALUATE
How much freedom should children have to make their own choices?
RESPONSIBILITY
What responsibilities should children have at home as they get older?
BALANCE
How can parents protect children while still allowing them to become independent?
TECHNOLOGY
What are the advantages and disadvantages of children using phones, tablets, and computers from a young age?
PROBLEM-SOLVE
A child spends nearly all of their free time using a phone or playing games. What could the family do?
SCHOOL
What skills should schools teach children besides traditional academic subjects?
ADVISE
What advice would you give parents who want their children to become confident and responsible?
REFLECT
Which parts of childhood do you think adults should try hardest to protect as society changes?