Millionaire Parents, Millionaire Sons by Amy Yip

In this book, Amy has sharing her own parental guides towards her sons which is different from the parental guides of modern parents such as one of the parts she had said that her house did not has television so her sons’ hobby will be reading. 

Millionaire Parents, Millionaire Sons

Some interesting words that I get from this book:-

The clever one learns from his own mistakes, while the wise one learns from others.

One of my friends confessed to me that he usually left the house very early for work and came home very late. The only time he saw his children was when they were sound asleep. “I only see my children growing longer. I don’t see them growing taller,” he told me.

No presents can replace the presence of the parents.

School should provide a very safe and generous environment where children can learn from their mistakes and blunders. It would be much costly for both the children and society if they commit errors after leaving school.

Whatever you want your children to do, you do it first.

The parent who never apologizes to his children is a monster. If he’s always apologizing his children are monsters!

An investment in knowledge pays the best dividends.

Inside view

Now, I share with you the practical tools by Amy in raising her sons (for the details can read from her book)

1. Five toys system

When her sons were small, they only allowed possessing a maximum of 5 toys. It means that if they wanted to but an absolutely must-have new toy, they had to give away an existing one.

2. Building family work

To build family work, her elder son was in charge of washing the dishes, while younger son took care of laundry and folding clothes.

3. The exercise of goal setting

Amy had gone through an annual goal setting exercise for the family and each individual. It is a great way to start her sons to think things through and getting the answers instead of telling them what to do.

4. Teaching the proper value of money

For her sons’ monthly pocket money, she always ask her sons to think ahead and do a budget of their spending needs, instead of trying to  match what their friends get.

To encourage saving habits and delayed gratification, Amy would top-up 3 times any sum left unspent and put it into bank account which they cannot touch until 18 years old.

5. Master the art of selling

Amy wanted her sons to experienced rejections, kindness and all sorts of responses to their simple question of, “Would you like to help me and buy some raffle ticket?” The lesson they learnt is that some will and some won’t!

6. Doing well in school is their “JOB”

Amy never gives any monetary gifts or presents to her children when they come home with good grades. She only praises them with words like “Well done!” or “Good Job!” because getting good grades is their responsibility. 

7. Experience the best and the worst

Example Amy will alternate family vacations between “luxury” and “hardship” trips. Sometimes they went to resort and 6 star hotels, arriving in style in stretch limousine. Other time, they took 8 hour trips on public transport in overloaded buses filled with people and animals before arriving in remote parts of India and China.

8. Instill compassion

Amy always ask her sons to think of what good they are doing to themselves, to others and to Mother Earth with every thought, word and deed of theirs.

9. Be a global citizen

Every summer school holiday, Amy arranges for her sons to spend some time in a foreign country, be it a sports camp, a family vacation or a cultural exchange program.

10. Remember your roots

Amy will make sure her sons visited her husband’s home town of Shanghai and she insist on them keeping up Chinese language skills.