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.

What’s the best way to teach a Chinese-American child to be thankful for what they have?

My daddy thinks about this kind of thing. He loves God. He’s been a Christian for many many years. He teaches me to be thankful.

We say ‘thank you’ every day, several times a day – when we go to the park for a walk each morning, before we eat, when we go to school, before we sleep.

Chinese Church in Christ

We say ‘thank you for mommy who works hard, for Gong Gong and Poh Poh, for being strong, for being pretty, for good food, for our house, for my toys.’

I am not sure who or what I am being thankful to, but I know it’s good to be thankful. Some kids don’t have the same things I do.

Daddy never lets me forget to say my prayers of thankfulness. He also shows me how to do be thankful. He NEVER EVER forgets to say thank you. And he always says thank you for Mia. That really makes me happy.

Are the parents of all little boys and girls thankful for them? I should think so. But I don’t know.

I do know that my daddy loves me. And it’s probably because his daddy loved him. And his daddy before him. And his daddy before him. And and and … and way back in the beginning there must have been a daddy who loved them first.

Maybe that is who we are saying thank you to – the very first Daddy.

Question: What’s the best way to teach a Chinese-American child to be thankful for what they have?

Answer: Teach them to say thank you to the very first daddy of all.

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