Shengliver’s Note: I hope my reader decides whose side he is on. Is the teacher right to point out Yalin’s problems? Is the mother right to lose her temper? Should the writer sympathise? Should your child have the same problems, what action would you take?

I have a sister named Zhang Yalin. She is 7, in primary school.

Last week, my mother was summoned by Yalin’s teacher to the school office for a cuppa, where they compared notes on my sister’s school performance. The teacher said, “Zhang Yalin can’t pay attention to the teacher in class. She does her homework carelessly. She even can’t sit still for long.” They talked for nearly an hour.

After my mother came back, she flipped the lid, becoming as fierce as a tigress. The abrupt change shocked Yalin. In her eyes, Mother was always a gentle and caring parent. Not until then did my sis Yalin realise how serious the situation was. As a result, Mother and Sis did not talk to each other for days on end. Meanwhile, Yalin was not allowed to watch TV or play computer games like before.

When I got home on the weekend, my mother told me everything. I burst out laughing. When I was younger, my mother was not called to the school once because of my study. But she has been, on account of my younger sis’s behaviour at school.

“From now on,” my mother said sternly after dinner on Saturday evening, “Zhang Yalin shall watch TV or play games for no longer than an hour a day. She is to devote herself to her study. Work comes before play.”

I have mercy on my sis. As far as I am concerned, she is no more than a child. Nothing matters more to a kid than happiness. My mother and her teachers should give Yalin less pressure.