C1 – Advanced
Yamato Tanooka is 7 years old. He was left in the woods by his parents as punishment for being overly active. His father admitted to doing it and his parents were very apologetic about what happened.
Is this abuse or did his parents just lost control of the situation and didn’t know how else to discipline him?
The lost boy and Japan’s parenting debate
Discuss:
1. What is your reaction that “many parents in Japan tend to see their children as their personal possessions”?
2. What is your idea of good and bad parenting?
3. How are kids usually punished in your country when they misbehave?
4. When do we say it’s abuse and when do we say it’s discipline?
5. What do you think are effective ways to discipline children?
6. How can we keep children safe from abuse?