A disturbing scene

I was having my chicken rice lunch when I witnessed this scene.

A mother and a little girl around Joy's age were queuing up for the chicken rice. Then the mother told the little girl to "book" a nearby table by simply sitting down. But the little girl refused to do it. Her mum kept pushing her to do it. But I can see the fear in the little girl's eyes...she is scared to be away from the mum. Then the mum lost her temper and ordered her to sit at the table and not to be a "sticky chewy". The little girl has no choice but to obediently sit at the table... while the mum bought the chicken rice, her eyes was fixed at her mum and in fear. When her mum finally came to the table, I saw her facial expression changing from fear to happiness.

To adult, it is no big deal sitting down while the other person go and get the food. In fact we love to be the "lazy" one. But to a kid, it may be a frightening thing to be "alone" at the table or to be away from mummy especially it is a crowded environment. Or maybe that kid got lost before and it is frightening for her. We as an adult often assume what we think best for the kid but neglecting how the kid feel about it. There was once my mum did that to Joy. She asked Joy to "chop" seat. Joy quietly sat there for a while. Then she suddenly became fearful and started to cry. A stranger approached her and asked her what happen. Luckily she was smart enough to ask the stranger to call me. She rang me and started crying. Very shortly I heard my mum's voice scolding her for being timid. My mum said " only wait for a short while also scare...no use" in mandarin. *sigh*... poor Joy.