"My Un-American Son

By KUMIKO MAKIHARA
Published: July 23, 2009

TOKYO — “In America, don’t lay even a finger on anyone,” I tell my 10-year-old son as I pack his bags for summer camp in the U.S. I’m trying to reprogram him so he doesn’t casually shove another child in a manner common on playgrounds here. One mischievous push, I worry, would be condemned in America as a strike of violence.

Getting Yataro ready for his first sleep-away camp overseas is turning out to be much more than counting T-shirts and towels. I’m having to review the way children interact here to see which behaviors would go against American codes of conduct. American parents have higher standards than Japanese when it comes to acceptable behavior among children."

Thank you Poopyhead from BC for finding this article.

• ( http link ) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/opinion/24iht-edkumiko.html?_r=1
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