Moulding A Child!

On the way to Alang-alang, Leyte from Catbalogan, Northern Samar last Saturday, I stopped by the roadside in Jiabong, Western Samar to buy some mussels, oysters and shrimps for lunch.

In one of the stalls, I saw a 5-year-old boy helping his father and mother by cleaning mussels (tahong) sold for P100 per kilo.

The boy just sat there alone unmindful of people around him focused on what he was doing which he seemed to enjoy.

Parang naglalaro lang sya pero ang sabi ng Nanay, binibigyan nya ng pabuya na P20 kapag natapos nya linisin ang isang basket na tahong.

I remember my childhood when I and my brothers would parade to the farm every Saturday and Sunday morning to do round-weeding of the rubber seedlings planted by my Tatay.

There was no immediate monetary reward at day’s end.

Instead, Tatay inspired us to work by telling us that the rubber trees which we planted and cared for could later send us to school and that we could buy new shoes.

While other kids were playing basketball, we were working in the farm inspired by Tatay’s promise of buying us new rubber shoes and sending us to school.

I don’t know what happened to the other kids who enjoyed their weekends playing basketball.

But Tatay and Nanay’s sacrifices turned us all eleven boys into professionals – a police colonel, three Mayors, one Congressman, a Governor and Cabinet Secretary.

I will not be surprised if that little boy in Jiabong, Western Samar would someday be successful because at an early age, he has learned that there is a reward for hard work.

Teach your kids how to do simple household chores and farm work and reward them.

Take them away from those gadgets which destroy their eyesights and detaches them from the family.

They will certainly resent it at first but believe me, you will be moulding him into a better person and someday, he will thank you and love you for that.

#ToRaiseAnObedientChild!

(This short video clip was taken in Jiabong, Western Samar by the media team of Biyaheng Senado Ni Manny Piñol)