Kids Come Second

My wife and I never dreamed that our children would someday graduate from prestigious schools such as MIT, Harvard University, the University of Cambridge and Tufts University. Both of my daughters were class presidents of their universities. My children's high academic achievements and strong character development happened not by coincidence. It has been hard work for everyone in the family.

In this book, the reader will find numerous stories about things that have worked in my family and mistakes that I have made during the different stages of bringing up my children.

This book is more about parenting than about preparing our children for prestigious schools. My belief is that if children develop strong personal values and communication skills, higher academic achievements will naturally follow.

This book is not just for parents. In fact, many ideas are equally useful to children as well. My younger daughter once commented, "Having the right attitude is important. I can't pinpoint what specific things you and Mom have done to give us (our children) this mind-set, but for all three of us, we always want to do better. We always think we can learn more or be more accomplished than we already are, and that's great."

Chapters 2 and 3 of this book focus on the development of the learning capability of a child.

In Chapter 4, I will take a look at the parents' behavior in building unity between themselves, among the children, and within the family as a whole.

Chapter 5 is about maintaining strong connection and communication with children. It is important that we nurture an environment that facilitates respect and encourages the freedom of speech while maintaining parental authority within the family.

In Chapter 6, I will discuss the attitudes and personal characteristics important for children to have in order to thrive in society.

In the Appendix, I will highlight a few key steps necessary to prepare children for university.

This book is not about fast-tracking educational advancement. Rather, it is about the balanced development of a child's preparation for the real world and the building of family relationships that are strong and sustainable for a life-time.

A friend of mine, Mr. Klingman, once reminded me of a belief from a university professor, "The goal of education is not knowledge but actions." I am totally convinced by the professor's belief. I hope that every reader will be motivated by this book to do at least one thing differently to enhance their family relationships and to better prepare their children to strive in the society.

You can find out more about this book from web site http: //www.kidscomesecond.com/.