(705) "Difficult" boy

There was this family of five living in a block of apartments near a school. Father worked hard at bringing home the bacon. Mum was a homemaker. The eldest boy studied in the school next to his home.

When the time came for child number two to start school, things were not straight forward as expected. For one week in a row, number two boy walked home on his own as soon as his mother went home. After sending him back to school repeatedly, the poor mother ended up waiting in school until dismissal time. One week was up, the headmistress of the school suggested that this number two boy be transferred to a school three miles away, making it difficult for the boy to escape home. Not knowing what else to do, the parents complied.

And so number two boy was sent to a strict Chinese primary school. There he remained and the poor mother and the youngest boy had to accompanied him daily into the second month. By then all the other mothers were released from guard duties. Out of desperation, this mother went to the headmistress to ask for advice.

The headmistress was a believer who asked God for wisdom. In this case she discerned that the mother had a lot of grievance against her middle child. The child in question was not timid, he was tall and big for his age. For that matter, the boy was good looking and confident. There fore the wise headmistress advised the mum to stop complaining and scolding the child and to start looking for opportunity to praise the boy instead. The father was to give the middle child special attention. Since the boy loved to be taken out to eat, the father was willing to take him out without his brothers once a week.

A few months later, after the middle child was finally convinced that his parents loved him. He told his mother that there was no need for her to stay and wait for him at school anymore. He remembered that his headmistress promised him a present when he finally "grew" up ( able to attend school without his mum and brother being present), he went proudly to the HM's room to claim his gift. A few years later he became a student leader in school.