Shengliver’s Note: Like father, like son. The same is true of mothers and daughters. Your offspring not only has your eyes, nose and mouth but talks and behaves like you as well.

One day after school, I decided to dine out. When I was strolling down Jiangsu Road, a woman, with her daughter by her side, caught my eye.

The girl, about 8, was snacking when walking. Upon finishing the treat, she casually dropped the wrapping on the pavement. When the mother saw it, she bent over and talked to the girl. Her voice was so gentle that I could not hear her clearly. After the mother straightened up, the girl looked around as if to search for something. It seemed that she could not find it. Then the kid turned to her mother, who in turn pointed her toward something on the other side of the street. It was a bin.

Right away, the girl picked up the package from the ground before she ran away quickly. She was to cross the street to drop it into the bin. A lot of rush-hour traffic on the street, it took the girl quite a while to navigate her way across the zebra crossing to the other side.

I was incredulous. Walking up to the lady, I inquired, “Excuse me, Madame. Why bother to send your daughter over there? It was so dangerous.”

The lady, a bit surprised, answered, “Oh, I did not want my girl to litter. She will remember the lesson hopefully.”

The mother was a bit worried as her eyes followed the girl, who was making the trip to and from the bin. When the girl came back and joined her mother, she stared at me in puzzlement.

Looking back on my discovery on the road, I admire the young mother for her way with the daughter. Should every mother follow her example, our community would be a much tidier place.