Q: What do you put importance on in raising your son?
A: My son is already raised! I never thought about a philosophy, but I tried to make sure that he was honest, polite, and able to think for and stand up for himself. I also encouraged him to be himself and follow his own interests. Education is important in our family, so I always asked that he do his very best in any class, even if it was one he didn’t enjoy, but I also gave him opportunities outside of school to learn about subjects he was curious about. I did try to make sure he was self-sufficient, and he is to some extent. He can do his laundry, shop for his own needs, budget his money, etc. but he still can’t cook hardly anything, hahahaaa! Maybe when he moves out he will live off of boxed macaroni and cheese, and sandwiches.
One thing that is probably different from Japanese parenting is that I tried to raise him to think about seeing things from other people’s viewpoints. In the US, we have people from many countries all living together, and we can’t necessarily understand the actions some people take. In order to live peacefully with people from other cultures, we have to step outside our own cultural thinking and try to understand why they behave or react in different ways from ourselves.
（和訳）
Q: 息子さんを育てるときに大切にしていることは？
A: 私の息子はもう育ってしまったわ！方針について考えたことはないけれど、正直で、礼儀正しく、自分自身で考えたり、立ち上がるようにしていたわね。あと自分らしくあること、自分の興味を追求するように励ましたわ。我が家では教育が大事なので、どんなクラスも、たとえ彼が面白くないクラスでも、最善を尽くすように言ったわ。あと、彼が興味を持つ科目については学校以外で学ぶ機会を与えたわ。自活できるようにしたわね。彼はある程度そうなっているわよ。洗濯、必要なものの買い物、自分のお金の管理などはできる。ただ、まだ料理がほとんどできないわね（笑）たぶん、家を出たら、箱入りマカロニチーズとサンドイッチで生きていくでしょうね。
おそらく日本の子育てと違うところは、他の人の視点から物事を見ることについて考えさせたことかしら。アメリカでは、いろいろな国の人たちが一緒に生活をしていて、理解し難い行動をする人たちもいるの。異なる文化背景の人たちと平和に暮らすために、自分たちの文化的思考から一歩出て、その人たちがなぜ自分たちとは違う行動や反応をするかを理解しようとしなければならないのよ。
