I’m Chihiro, and I’m raising my five-year-old daughter, Shizuka. Today, we went to a family restaurant with Kasumi and her daughter, Mao (also five), who is in the same extracurricular class as Shizuka. I was shocked when Mao left half of her kids’ meal and Kasumi just calmly let her finish. To me, ordering food and not finishing it is unacceptable. When Shizuka asked in surprise, “She’s being a bad girl, right?” I told her flat out, “Yeah, only bad girls leave food behind.”
Knowing Shizuka couldn’t finish a whole portion by herself, I ordered a large size for us to share. I’m always teaching her not to waste food, and I believe the habits you form as a child stay with you forever. Personally, I’m grateful my parents raised me to never leave even a single grain of rice on my plate. But there was Kasumi, perfectly fine with Mao wasting her meal. It’s the exact opposite of what I teach Shizuka, and I felt like I couldn’t just let that kind of behavior slide without setting a proper example. I never want to go out to eat with Kasumi and her daughter again. Now that I know what kind of person she is, I think I need to reconsider our entire friendship.