Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

Baloo the Bear Parenting

There are at least 8 animal parenting philosophies to choose from. Which is yours?

There’s the:

Chameleon Parent: The parent changes colors, um, approach depending on the personality of the child. What works for one child might not work for another.

Wolf Parent: Strict discipline. Beat your children. Punish your children. Leave no room for error in your child’s life.

Free-range Parent: Let the kids run free … as long as they are safe and not likely to hurt themselves permanently.

Pussy Cat Parent: Help the child find their own motivation, to connect with their own passions. If they child finds what they love to do they won’t have to work at doing it.

Hippo Parent: Just sit on your kids when they don’t do what you want. And hope they can hold their breath for a long time, too!

Click to read => Helicopter versus duct tape parenting

Koala Parent: Lots and lots and lots of hugging … trees. Oh, and your kid, too.

Panda Parent: Chill. Let the chaos happen, because it’s going to anyway. Then learn how to make your way through it. Have you ever wondered what the panda was thinking when there were hundreds and hundreds of people climbing over each other to ogle it?

Tiger Parent: It’s not how to motivate your kid to do the first hour of practice that’s the problem. It’s how to get them to do the second hour.

What kind of parent is your mommy and daddy?

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.