Creative Boy
The boy made me laugh. I seldom if ever encounter such an entertaining 7-year-old at the dining table but then I seldom had lunch with small kids around. The boy poured Chinese tea from the mug into his rice bowl and plate. He sipped from them while his father was conversing with me or answering his mobile phone.

Soon the dad spotted his mischief and said, "Chinese tea is drunk from the mug. Pour the tea back into the mug." The boy complied without a word  and split some tea onto the table. "Take these tissues to soak up the tea from the table and wipe the plate," the father said in a gentle voice. 

"Did you learn parenting from some books? What books did you read?" I asked the father, being quite impressed with the children's exemplary behaviour at the dining table.

The father said, "I learnt from my parents."

Well, after lunch, the boy poured Coca Cola onto the surface of the can and sipped from it as Dad was busy on the phone, being a busy top executive. I was surprised at his antics and could not help laughing at the age of innocence when a child could experiment and had not many "no, no" from the adults to stifle his creativity.   

When his sister handed to me the contents of her can of Green Tea to share with me, the boy took it and poured the contents into his Coca Cola can and sipped from it.

Public Relations Girl
This girl was excellent at Public Relations at the dining table. After I was unsuccessful in getting her brother in sharing his Coca Cola can of drink with me, I asked her. As her can was almost empty, she offered me her drink of green tea from her mug.

"It is OK. I drink from my straw," she said. Therefore I could drink from her cup.  This 8-year-old girl could anticipate my hygienic worries - that was quite incredible at this young age.

There must be somebody training her well to share what she had. I had only Chinese tea and she presumed I wanted a soft drink as I had asked her brother if he would share his drink.  As his brother was negative, I had asked her.  I was testing her and therefore did not accept the drink. The brother took her can of Chinese tea and poured the contents into his Coca Cola can. 

Boys don't share their soft drink   
"No," the boy shook his head when I asked him to share the leftover contents of his can of Coca Cola with me. When his sister handed me her almost empty can of Green Tea, the boy took it and poured the contents into his Coca Cola can and sipped from it.

This time, the father was busy on his mobile and therefore missed this opportunity to train him not to hijack the can from his sister to me.

Consistency in training the young ones
The father dished out 2 prawns from the soup bowl to each person. The boy just peeled the prawns by himself and ate them, but his sister did not touch her prawns. "My wife peels the prawns for the daughter," the Captain explained to me anticipating my thoughts.  "My son has been taught to be independent and peel the prawns himself." 

In this prawn peeling, there was an inconsistency in the training of the young ones. The daughter will not dirty her hands and fingers by peeling prawns or crabs unless her boyfriend or mother does it. Well, there are many of such parents peeling off the shells of crabs and prawns for their children. In inconsistent parenting, this makes the disciplinary father the hatchet man and the mother the one to be loved by and confided to by the children.  

"I am full," excuse.    
"Don't you like prawns?" I asked the girl with a heart-shaped face and  who would one day blossom into a gracious and pretty lady with external and internal beauty. 
 
"I am full," she looked at me with serious eyes. 
"Well, that is what my son says when he does not want to eat the vegetables or food he does not like. When he likes the food, he is not full."

In this girl, the mother was not there to peel for her and therefore she would not dirty her hands. The brother had to do it himself and had to go to the bathroom to wash his hands too. After my remark, the girl shelled out one prawn and ate it. Her action was quite unexpected.      

Sibling rivalry and teaching the child to share
As the sister did not eat her prawns, her brother was eyeing them but did not grab them or said anything. He was definitely well trained. The father was now away from his mobile phone and noted the boy's interest in the prawns.

"Why not let little brother peel the prawns for you. He eats one and you eat the other?" the father proposed. This father certainly knew how to teach the boy to get what he wants by giving what the other wants. The sister shook her head. So, two reddish tiger prawns laid in her plate untouched at this moment.

Teaching Good Table Manners To a Child
"Is it OK if I dish out the two prawns to me son?" the father asked me for permission. "Yes," I said. "Please go ahead." The boy peeled the prawns and ate them quickly. I looked at the girl. She started to peel one prawn and ate it. Mum was not around but she did it by herself. The father did not say a word.

"How about eating the other prawn?" I asked her.
She shook her head. Father said nothing too.

The father carved out the steamed Tilapia fish head and placed it on the boy's plate beside the soup bowl. I was more surprised as I this was the first time I see a small boy liking the fish head as it did not have much meat.

Then the father carved out one cheek of the fish and put it on his daughter's plate. The daughter waited and looked for the piece from the other cheek. "Let the brother eat the other piece," the father said. "You will get it next time." The girl did not object or throw any tantrums. They boy ate all the meat off the fish head.   

Motivation using forbidden food 
"How do you get 2 young ones to behave at the dining table?" I wondered.

"When they finished eating their food, they get a soft drink as a reward," the father enlightened me. Positive reinforcement training using food is the best method of training.  

Conclusion
Training a child or puppy takes a lot of time as you can see from this illustration. Patience, Perseverance and Positive Reinforcement. However, in puppy training, 5-10 minutes will be sufficient as the puppy gets bored soon. 
In the upbringing the child, there are more complicated factors involved.

However, consistency from the parents and knowledge of how to train are important factors in achieving success. Definitely, it is much easier to train a puppy than a child to become a good, kind and honest adult.
What about the left-over prawn of the little girl? I had it, the plate of rice left uneaten by the boy and the last piece of sweet and sour pork meat packed for human consumption at my Surgery. No point wasting such food as they would be thrown away. There is no swill collection in Singapore nowadays. This was a most memorable lunch treat I had. It was unexpectedly entertaining  due to the antics of the little boy with thick black eye-brows who made me laugh a lot. He was 5 decades younger than me now. I expect that he would grow up to be a fine young man making his parents proud of him. He would be a top executive if his father teaches him the ropes or a mastermind gangster if the dark forces get to control his creative mind.