We All Want To Do The Right

I Do Think That Maybe, Even Subconsciously, A Lot Of Parents In The West Are Wondering, Have We Gone Too Far In The Direction Of Coddling And Protecting - You Know, You See Kids, Sometimes That Seem Very Rude And Disrespectful. And The More Important Thing Is They Don't Seem That Happy.

I Think The Biggest Difference Is That I've Noticed Western Parents Seem Much More Concerned About Their Children's Psyches, Their Self-esteem, Whereas Tough Immigrant Parents Assume Strength Rather Than Fragility In Their Children And Therefore Behave Completely Differently.

The Truth Is I'm Not Good At Enjoying Life.

I See My Upbringing As A Great Success Story. By Disciplining Me, My Parents Inculcated Self-discipline. And By Restricting My Choices As A Child, They Gave Me So Many Choices In My Life As An Adult. Because Of What They Did Then, I Get To Do The Work I Love Now.

My Youngest Sister, Cindy, Has Down Syndrome, And I Remember My Mother Spending Hours And Hours With Her, Teaching Her To Tie Her Shoelaces On Her Own, Drilling Multiplication Tables With Cindy, Practicing Piano Every Day With Her. No One Expected Cindy To Get A Ph.d.! But My Mom Wanted Her To Be The Best She Could Be, Within Her Limits.