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1. Do you have children? If yes, tell us about each one (name, age, occupation, character). If no, how many brothers and sisters do you have? What do they do?
2. In Japan, many people in Tokyo only have one child but in the countryside 2, 3 or 4 kids is common. What, to you, is the ideal number? Why?
3. In Japan, for many centuries, it used to be that male babies were preferred. Why do you think that was?
4. These days, women are more likely to hope it is a girl. Why do you think that is?
5. Tell us about what a ‘hikkikomori’ is. What causes these cases?
6. If a friend told you they were expecting a child, what advice would you give them? What is it really important to teach kids to be or do or think?

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Question 1

I don't have children, but I have my dog, Mogu, I treat him like my baby! He's 10 years old, his birthday is on May 15. I adopted him during the height of the covid pandemic and English-Please was only doing online lessons. He is a very gentle and sweet dog. He never barks and always comes when you call his name.

Question 2

I don't really want children any time soon, but I guess having just 2 children is okay and raising them to be best friends would be the best. I think just being the only child can get kind of lonely.

Question 3

I think it was probably because the male child can carry the family name. It's the same in the Philippines. In the Philippines, some parents also think that having a male child will ensure more success for the family and expect them to contribute to raising their younger siblings. I don't like this mindset. Thankfully my parents didn't like this way of thinking too and raised us to be independent and we have no obligations to our family.

Question 4

I think women want a girl because they think they can be closer to female child and do cute things with them like buying pretty dresses, dolls and doing things like cooking or having tea together. My aunt had always wanted to have girls, but she has 2 boys instead. She loved to play with me and braid my hair or paint my nails when I was a child. I really had a lot of fun with her.

Question 5

I think a hikkikomori is an adult who cannot socialize properly with the outisde world because they have some untreated mental problems. Perhaps bad parenting could be the cause, when parents either neglect their child too much or put too much pressure on them instead of allowing them to enjoy their youth and being more supportive. I heard that some cases are also caused by severe bullying and the child couldn't tell their parents what was happening to them out of fear of the bullies.

Question 6

I think the most useful advice I could give would be to teach their children how to save money and live within their means. They should also focus on raising kind children rather than focusing too much on being the best at everything. I think, if a child always feels that they are loved and supported, they cannot go wrong in life and will always do more than what is expected of them.

Tough Vocabulary