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Whose Child Is This?
Poet- Anonymous
Theme- Shared responsibility of both parents and teachers in building a child’s future.
Character- Narrator (poet), parent, teacher, the boy.

Paraphrase of the poem
Seeing a little child playing, I asked whose child he was. With a tender smile his parent (father or mother) replied that the child was
his/hers. The parent told me that his/her duty was to watch the child for a while. Also, his/her duty was to wash his (the child) hands,
comb his hair and help him with his dress up. It was his/her duty to prepare him so that he (the child) may always be good (healthy
and happy). His/her duty was to guide the child to do the things he should do.
I asked again the same question whose child he was. This time, as the door opened a teacher came in and answered with a tender smile
in his face that he (the child) was his (the teacher) boy. He replied that his responsibility was to keep the boy just for a while. His duty
was to teach him (the child) how to be gentle and kind. Also, it was his task to train and direct his (the child) dear little mind. The
teacher’s duty was to help the boy to live a life of rule and to ensure that the child could get the best from school too.
I asked once more the same question whose child he was as the little one entered the door. Both the parent and the teacher answered
with a smiling face that the child was theirs. Each of them took the hand of the little child and declared that it was their blessed task to
love and train the child together.

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Important questions
1. What is the frequently asked question in the poem “Whose Child Is This?”?
The frequently asked question in the poem “Whose Child Is This?” is Whose Child Is This?
2. Who answered the question first in the poem “Whose Child Is This?”
The parent answered first question in the poem Whose Child Is This?
3. What were the tasks of the parent according to the poem “Whose Child Is This?”?
According to the poem “Whose Child Is This?” the parent’s tasks were to keep the child for a while, to bathe his hands, to comb
his hair, to help him to dress up, to look after him and to teach him what he should do.
4. What were the tasks of the teacher according to the poem “Whose Child Is This?”?
According to the poem “Whose Child Is This?” the tasks of the teacher were to keep the boy just for a while, teach him how to be
gentle and kind, train and direct his mind, help him live by rule, ensure that he can the best from school.
5. What is the blessed task of both the parent and the teacher in the poem “Whose Child Is This?”?
In the poem “Whose Child Is This?” the blessed task of both the parent and the teacher is to love and train the child together.
6. What is the main/ central theme of the poem “Whose Child Is This?”?
The main theme of the poem “Whose Child Is This?” is the shared responsibility of both parents and teachers in building a child’s
future.
7. How do both the parent and the teacher answer the question “Whose Child Is This?”?
Both the parent and the teacher answer the question Whose Child Is This? with a tender smile in the poem “Whose Child Is
This?”.
8. How many times did the speaker ask the question Whose Child Is This?
The speaker asked the question Whose child is this? three times.
9. Who answers the first question?
The parent answers the first question.
10. Who answers the second question?
The teacher answers the second question.
11. Who answers the third/ final question?
Both the parent and the teacher answer the final question together.
12. Why does the parent refer to the child as “Mine”?
As the parent sees himself/ herself responsible for guiding the child’s future, he/she at first owns the child.
13. Why does the teacher refer to the child as “Mine”?
As the teacher sees himself responsible for guiding the child’s future, he/she at first owns the child.
14. Why do both the parent and the teacher respond to the question “Whose Child Is This?” saying ‘ours’?
In the final stanza both the parent and the teacher recognize their shared responsibilities in guiding a child’s future. So, they
reply the question Whose Child Is This? saying ‘ours’?