On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, our family was invited to attend a family dinner at my in-law's house to enhance family bonding. Although the party was expected to be lively and joyful, an unexpected event made the whole scene embarrassing.
Since the dinner was scheduled for the evening, each family had a different arrival time, so our sibling family arrived early with our children. Since the aunt who invited us to dinner had not yet arrived, in order to avoid the rush hour when the dishes could not be stir-fried in time, we ordered and waited.
My two sisters went to order food, and the dishes were served one after another. However, even though the dishes were ready, everyone did not move their chopsticks, and they were all waiting for the aunt who was about to arrive. She was the eldest in the party and one of the payers, so everyone didn't dare to start first.
At this moment, the children of my cousin's family began to eat vegetables, causing a burst of whispering. Although the child's grandmother reminded him to wait, he ignored it and continued to enjoy his meal. The relatives around him could only laugh and say nothing, seeing this as the nature of the child.
It is worth mentioning that at this time, there were two children from my family, two children from my sister's family, and one child from my cousin's family. My cousin's child is the oldest and is already in his first year of high school; My eldest is in the second grade of elementary school. As I watched the children's performance, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
I started to teach my children some rules when they were sensible:
These rules are scattered and scattered, but I keep repeating them. Now, my little baby is 7 years old, and I am pleased with his performance.
One might wonder if it is necessary to teach these traditional rules in this day and age. However, there are countless family mottos and rules of ancient Chinese celebrities, and through these teachings, countless outstanding children have been cultivated, contributing to the prosperity and development of the family. I was deeply impressed to learn of the family inheritance of Zeng Guofan, and the descendants of the five Zeng Guofan brothers have been extended to the eighth generation, and more than 240 of them have achieved outstanding achievements.
Although the cousin's child's behavior caused a burst of chuckles, who wouldn't secretly think in their hearts that they didn't understand the rules at such an old age, which would inevitably lead to ridicule.
The next thing that happened made me realize that a family without rules is more worrying than poverty.
At the end of the dinner, the cousin's child asked his grandmother, "Have you taken me?" How come I don't remember? The child was raised by his grandmother since he was a child, and the cousin and his wife were busy with work and had no time to take care of the children, so the children spent weekends and holidays at their grandparents' house.
After hearing this, my aunt couldn't help but say: "Your grandparents take you every day, buy you delicious food, take you to sit in a rocking chair, and spend weekends, winter and summer vacations at your grandparents' house, have you forgotten?" However, the child just said lightly, "I don't remember", which made my heart sour. He had forgotten everything his grandparents had done for him, and I couldn't help but wonder, can a 15-year-old child forget all the memories before he was 12 years old?
This child, who has been pampered and raised since childhood, lacks upbringing and rules, does not know how to behave, and does not know how to be grateful. Only by establishing a sense of rules from an early age can we avoid suffering big losses in the future.
My mother, an illiterate rural woman, did not know much about the truth, but she often told me a story about "stealing needles from a young age and stealing gold when she grew up".
In the story, a child has been stealing vegetables from his neighbor's house since he was a child, and every time he comes home from stealing, his mother happily praises him. However, the child grew up to become a habitual thief and ended up in prison. After his mother wanted to visit him several times, he finally agreed to meet and expressed his resentment to his mother.
This story reminded me of the truth of "stealing needles from a young age, stealing gold when you grow up".
The teachings of my parents are very important, and I will pass on the rules that my parents taught me to educate my children. Because only love and rules go hand in hand, can children grow up healthily and make a difference.