Photo by Jenny Stein

Ok, I am not actually packing, but I read an article about some of the ways children are raised around the globe and I was a tad more inspired by the values that show up for fourth graders in Tokyo than in my homeland.

"Why shouldn't you hit?" the researcher inquired.

"Because you would get in trouble," the American kids explained.

"Because someone might get hurt," was the Japanese sentiment.

The author described the goals that rule supreme in America: academics, and hitting developmental milestones early. In other cultures, say the ones where babies are always in arms, babies never crawl at all. And in Sweden, caring for a younger sibling is more important than SAT scores.

I wonder if couples in Europe and Asia get a leaner helping of self importance. It would come in handy in marriage, to not have the Race to be Right pounded into you from before you could spell magnanimity.