Child is a Teacher of MAN

Just the other day as we walked down the railway platform to fetch my brother and his family, we realised what we had habitually done for years could have such an impact on a little mind of my three year old

A old haggard man with leprosy was begging there and we walked past him and he was persistant...
the little one tugged at his papa and said give me a coin appa....i need to give it to him. but we had none since we had used all coins to buy the platform ticket at the machine outside. We tried to explain that and he wouldnt budge. He said i need a coin to give it to this man.

It then occured to us that this kid had been observing our actions so closely than we ever anticipated. We were shocked and proud at the same time. Of course though the feeling of proudness at the child's giving attitude was definitely misplaced since he followed it as a rule rather than anything akin to sharing or philanthropy.

We were in the habit of doling out coins at the traffic lights and on the beach while walking with the kid. He had seen the action so many times, doing it himself sometimes, aiding it sometimes and come to think of it as a thing to do. We never gave it a thought. Today, it dawned on us as to how true the statement was that child is like a sponge observing and absorbing whatever we say and do.