We often threaten our kids with dire consequences if they don't study well, or do as we say.
"If you don't study well, you'll become a garbage man or cleaner when you grow up. Is that what you want?"
But what are the little ones learning from us? That a garbage man has the worst job in the world? Is it a job to be ashamed of?
And what if one day, all the garbage men refused to do their jobs? Who would do the "dirty" work?
This mom managed to teach a few valuable lessons to her kids, thanks to a very "smelly" garbage truck in Singapore. Do read her beautiful post!
How a garbage truck in Singapore taught these kids some life lessons
Mommy Eunice Chong recently shared her experience on Facebook, "A few weeks ago, as we were walking to the car, the rubbish truck trundled into our estate to pick up its daily load.
“Eeeeeeee!!” T said in his usual loud voice, as both kids covered their noses.
“So smelly right Mama?” said H."
Soon, the garbage men got out to collect the rubbish from the bins.
Mommy Eunice told her kids, "That it was rather insensitive of them to have said and done what they did. We talked about how tough it must be to do the uncles’ jobs and how we ought to appreciate them for doing something that no one else wanted to do.
"We also talked about how some of these uncles have to work very hard to support their families back home and how they must miss them very much."
The little ones realized their mistake and decided to make amends.
"Yesterday I came home from work and H showed me some notes that she made of her own accord."
"“It’s to say thank you for working hard to clear our rubbish,” she declared."
Teach kids to treat everyone equally
The next day, her kids ran up to the garbage uncles with their notes, "The uncles broke into smiles when they saw them."
Eunice's kids learnt some important life lessons that day. That everyone has an important role to play in society. And an honest living is a respectable living.
Eunice sums it up beautifully, "Why should we not value the effort that is put into ensuring that a job is done well, even if it’s to ensure that garbage is collected on time and efficiently every day?"
"If we, as a collective whole start to value and respect work that is done honestly and well, instead of merely placing value on that PHD as a measure of dignity and success, perhaps we would start rewarding excellence in work rather than the effort put into cramming for an exam or chasing after the next paper qualification."
"It’s a long shot but perhaps, perhaps, we will start seeing changes in the mindsets that have so entrenched the state of inequality that we are in."
So the next time you are tempted to give that garbage man example, bite your lips. Your children are watching and learning from you.
Meanwhile, here is Eunice's full post on Facebook.
Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore
