A short video showing a 7-year-old boy picking bottles from trash bins went viral in China, raising questions on social media as to why he was doing so.

It turned out the boy, Xiaozhi, who's in first grade, was reluctant to go to school and was sent by his mother on a mission to recycle plastic bottles from a landfill as a way of lecturing him about privilege and the importance of education.

"Sending my son to school was more like a tough fight," said Xiaozhi's mother who is surnamed Ruan. "Every morning, he stood at the entrance of the school and was unwilling to release my hand until the security guard and teachers helped me."

Once, Xiaozhi kept her at the gate for two hours, according to Ruan.

To let him understand the meaning of study and why all the kids have to go to school, I decided to take him to pick bottles from trash bins. Then, on a hot morning, they set off after breakfast. 

In the beginning, the stench from the garbage bin made Xiaozhi take a step back.

“But my mom said I can't go home until I picked over 100 bottles,” he said.

Even though Xiaozhi was extremely thirsty, Ruan didn't bring him water until he collected 20 bottles.

“It makes him realize it is too difficult to make money,” the mother said.

“If you cannot study very hard, you have to rummage through the trash looking for bottles,” the mother told her son on the way back home.

The mom's method, however, has divided netizens. Some compared her to a “tiger mom”, which means too demanding and strict with the child, while others applauded her approach. 

“I don't think my method is strict discipline. Instead, after this tough exercise, he has changed a lot,” the mother told Wuhan Daily.

His father, however, thought she was too strict. But her style seems to be paying dividends.

“Xiaozhi's academic performance has improved after that experience,” his teacher told People's Daily.