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.

Little Girls Like Hugs

My mommy was looking for a job. A job is when your mommy leaves home for a long time, then comes back.

My mommy had a job for a long time. She did her job so well, that the company was able to move to China. China is far away. My mommy took me on a trip to China once. I fell asleep on the airplane on our way. And when I woke up we still were NOT there.

My mommy spent the whole summer with me. And I was happy.

Time to Look for a Job

Then it was time for me to go back to school and for mommy to go back to work.

She and daddy were talking about what kind of job she should get. I don’t know anything about that sort of thing.  I do know jobs help mommies and daddies buy stuff. Not sure why.

A 6-year old’s Advice for Job Hunting

But daddy asked me anyway. Thanks for asking daddy! We were riding in the car to church I think.

Mia, would you rather mommy get a job where she can make a lot of money and buy you lots of stuff and you will be able to go lots of places (like Disneyland!) and we can get a bigger house with more stuff for you or would you rather she not make so much money but have more time to spend with you?

That was a really easy question for me.

I want more time with mommy!

How do you spell ‘love?’ T – I – M – E with mommy is how I spell it.

P.S. Mommy got a job. She leaves home after I go to school. And she gets home pretty soon after I get back from my Kung Fu class. I think she and daddy listened to me. Thanks for listening, mommy!

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