Toa Payoh HDB resident sees note on how P6 boy can develop better 'lift etiquette', realises it's about his son

A man living in Toa Payoh came across a note at the lift lobby about a Primary 6 boy's supposedly less-than-desirable lift etiquette, and later realised the boy mentioned was his son.

The man told Stomp he previously came across the printed note on Jul. 15, and though he did not pay much attention to it at first, he began reading it while waiting for the lift.

The note had been addressed to the family of a primary school student who takes the lift from the 23rd floor at around 7:20am on weekdays, according to Stomp.

It described the student as typically seen wearing "a green school T-shirt" and carrying "an oversized school bag with a small dangling toy".

The note added that the boy "often appears sleepy with slightly uncombed hair in the mornings".

In addition, the note carried a few requests for the boy's family, Stomp reported.

Reminders

Firstly, it asked the family to remind the boy "not to stand directly in front of lift doors after boarding".

"On several occasions, he has remained at the doorway instead of moving further into the lift, blocking access and making it difficult for residents to enter or exit," the note added.

"His oversized school bag did not help with the encounters."

It also asked that the family encourage the boy to "move further into the lift, keep his bag close to him", and "be mindful of others sharing the lift".

The note added:

"We hope he can develop good lift etiquette, spatial awareness, and consideration for other residents.

We appreciate it if this repeated issue can be addressed."

Son frightened

Following this, the man told Stomp that he realised the note was describing his youngest son.

While he initially felt embarrassed by his son's behaviour, he later felt uncomfortable due to the amount of detail the note included.

When he showed the note to his son, his son acknowledged that it was wrong of him to block the lift entrance, but said no one had told him to move further inside.

Noting that his son was frightened by how the note had described him in such detail, the man told Stomp:

"What happened to a simple request to my son by saying, 'Excuse me, boy, please don’t block the lift and move to the back'?"

Though the man agreed that his son ought to be more considerate, he questioned if it was necessary to post such a detailed note publicly.

He said that "it is quite common for a young boy waking up early in the morning to still feel sleepy and blur, and not do the right thing", but questioned if his son's lift etiquette was "really that serious that my neighbour has to go all the way to terrify [him]?"

The man added that unsure of how to respond, he had initially turned to artificial intelligence (AI) for advice.

He is now considering printing his own response and pasting it at the lift lobby.