mid-day Opinion: Teach children the importance of cleanliness

Representation pic

There's a feel-good aspect to the ongoing FIFA World Cup, and it is happening off the field. Japanese fans have warmed hearts. They left the stands spotless after a recent World Cup opener against the Netherlands in Texas. Reports said they stated it was ‘Japanese culture' to pick up after themselves.

Photographs showed Japanese fans picking up litter and stuffing it into bags they brought with them, leaving the stands spotless.

Some reports cite the Japanese as saying they learn this as early as school, with kids tidying up classrooms. Others say it is part of the Japanese way, or do as they say in Japanese. Incidentally, karate-do, the martial art, is a combination of kara (empty), te (hands), and do (the way), while judo literally means the gentle way.

Some experts say there is peer pressure in Japanese communities, so everybody tends to clean up after themselves. Others deny this and say simply that this is part of their life. Whatever their motivation for cleaning up, there are such huge, compelling takeaways for us as a society. We may not clean stadiums, but we can clean up after ourselves. We can desist from throwing rubbish anywhere and everywhere outside our homes, we can stop using public infra, roads, and commuting modes as convenient garbage bins.

This is a habit we need to inculcate in children, who should grow up with cleanliness as part of their upbringing. This should be taught at home and in schools, too, with kids encouraged to practice this in classrooms. Respect for others, discipline within, humility, and a willingness to learn.