Written advice: A parenting problem

1. Parenting problems.

Match the description with the type of problem.

2. A problem.

Read this letter that was sent to the problem page of the magazine Good Parenting, and answer the questions.

Q: I am a working mother of a nine-month-old girl. I went back to work after my daughter was four months old. However, the past couple of months she has become extremely "clingy". As soon as she sees me she wants me to pick her up and carry her. At times she has cried for up to 10 minutes if I'm busy preparing dinner or doing other household tasks. She won't stop crying unless I pick her up.

It's only with me that she behaves like this. When I'm not around she's happy playing on the floor with my husband. But as soon as she hears my voice or catches a glimpse of me, she turns cranky and will start crying non-stop. Thankfully, my husband is a great father. He takes her to the childcare centre, since I have to leave for work very early in the morning. I know she has a good time at the childcare centre because once or twice I've dropped in unannounced and stood and watched her. But as soon as she spots me, she falls apart and bursts into tears if I don't pick her up immediately. At outings and parties she refuses to let me out of her sight. At dinner parties I'm sometimes forced to eat standing up, holding her in my arms, because I prefer not to let her cry. This is causing me a great deal of frustration. I'm also exhausted from constantly looking after her when I'm around her. Please help before I go crazy.
-Sue Waugh, Reading

 

Choose the best answer.

3. A solution.

Read three possible answers to the problem and match them to the summary.

4. Giving advice.

Read advice from exercise 3 again. Choose the best word or phrase to complete the text.

5. Write.

Choose one of these problems and write a letter of advice. Write between 150 and 200 words.

  1. My two-year-old daughter has suddenly become afraid of the dark. If she wakes up in the night she starts crying and covers her eyes. What can I do?
  2. My four-year-old son whines all the time. I've tried to be patient and I've tried to be strict, but nothing seems to be working. What can I do to break him of this annoying habit?
  3. How best can I encourage my five-year-old to stop sucking his thumb?
  4. I have a two-year-old daughter. She carries her security blanket everywhere she goes. We have tried everything we can think of to get her to give it up, but nothing seems to work. What can we do?

Include some of the expressions from exercise 3. For example:

It's not unusual…
Nevertheless,…
You could well be…
You may need to…
So,…
This may mean…
If possible,…
You might even…
After all…

Check grammar, spelling and the organisation of your letter carefully.