Made in China

This is the scene I was greeted with when I returned home yesterday.

"Mummy, I will not eat mentos or chocolates here after. Please collect all the sweets and chocolates and biscuts and throw them into the dustbin. Don't buy any more milk from the shop. They are coming from China and there is a powder in it. If we eat it, we will die. So throw away everything. See, I have already put all the sweets and biscuts into this bag. Can I throw it away? They told us to do it in our school!!"

These were more or less the exact words from my daughter. She was waiting to throw everything out and with my son's birthday last week, we had quite a few chocolates and sweets at home. She had a big bundle. I sat her down and explained which had to be thrown and which was ok. She kept asking me even after going to bed.

I've always been surprised with the way kids seem to absorb whats told in the school. My daughter's school takes pains in explaining things to the children. When there was the HFMD scare in schools, the children were given a briefing on what it was and how it spread, the precausions and actions to be taken if one caught it. Nothing is sugar coated. Everything explained as is, such that it has a greater impact on the children.