erness,” says June’s mother, spelling out the dangerously congenital nature of this Chinese female submissiveness. (Matuz 92)Unconditional acceptance frees children to discover for themselves who they really are by living with various experiences long enough to see how well their choices work for them. Kids who have their needs met in healthy, constructive ways by their parents, may be less inclined to numb themselves with substances or compulsive behavior than kids that don’t. (Bluestein 82)For most mothers and fathers, the rewards of parenthood far outweigh the debits. Many report an enhanced sense of maturity and self-esteem. They often talk of their children as the previously missing link that ultimately strengthens their relationship. Most powerful of the rewards, and the most difficult to describe, are the ineffable feelings of love that bind mothers and fathers to their children. First comes the momentous transition to parenthood. Both husband and wife are entering a new stage in their lives, one fundamentally different from those that have gone before. Now they must think first not of themselves, but of the welfare of another human being. (Time-Life 38) Lindo Jong tells her daughter a story about trusting your mother. “Do not ride your bicycle around the corner,” the mother had told the daughter when she was seven.“Why not!” protested the girl.“Because then I cannot see you and you will fall down and cry and I will not hear you.”“How do you know I’ll fall?” whined the girl.“It is in a book, The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates, all the bad things that can happen to you outside the protection of this house.” “I don’t believe you. Let me see the book.”“It is written in Chinese. You cannot understand it. That is why you must listen to me.”“What are they, then?” the girl demanded. “Tell me the t...
