It is a huge task for any parent to raise a balanced, sane child with two cultures and two sets of values. We all do our best while some of us even force our way of life upon our children hoping to preserve our cultural values.

Our children also do their best to make a sense of their bicultural influences. Often they live a double life to satisfy their parents and to fit in their society.  In all fairness, it is natural for them to feel more at ease with the American culture, at least in their younger years when they try to belong and not feel like an outsider among their peers.  It is not uncommon for teenagers to reject their heritage by refusing to speak their native tongue or to mingle with others in their ethnic group.  This is all understandable, and yet we as parents often feel resentment and hopelessness…until they delightfully surprise us.  Until one day, when they demonstrate to us that although they did not participate or show an interest fully in our affairs, they have absorbed a great deal and are proud to be a part of us and our cultural heritage.

            I have two very personal experiences of my own which I love to share with you.    I have been blessed to be the grandmother of two beautiful angels within the past four years. As a liberal, open- minded mother as my children proudly claim, I do not interfere with their decisions as much as a mother can.  And I absolutely did not regarding naming their children.  Instead, I waited patiently until they were ready to make their announcements.  You know how it goes with our children in this day and age.  Individuality and independence are sacrosanct values in American culture and are not to be crossed, and I did not.  So it was to my pleasant surprise that both of my children, my son and my daughter, chose Persian names, Darius and Persia.