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.

One of my favorite princesses is Belle of Beauty and the Beast. Another favorite is Cinderella and Ariel and Mulan and Jasmine and Aurora and Tiana and Pocahantas and Snow White and Rapunzel and…Okay I love all the princesses. So what?

A girl could have worse heroes, right? Or maybe not.

Beast and the Beauty

Beauty and the Beast. My daddy and I play this game sometimes. I am the beast “What are you doing in my castle?” I cry out in the lowest voice a 3-year old can create.

“I came to look for my father who was lost in the cold,” replies daddy in his false teeth (Ed: falsetto) voice.

Then we laugh and laugh and sometimes cry those delicious tears of laughter …cuz it’s fun to pretend and play and imagine and sing and dance.

I reckon if there were a 21st century version of the Beauty and the Beast this is what it might look like.

You, my dear reader, can decide which is the Beauty and which is the Beast.

But my daddy? He knows his place.

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