By Pingting / May 23, 2026
某天，
跟娃儿去 Walmart 买他喜欢吃的零食。
车推到门口时，
突然有个七八十岁的老奶奶对娃儿说：
“你是个长得很好看的男孩，
你知道这件事吗？”
娃儿没回答，
害羞地把脸转开了。
到了另一个偏门口，
我对老奶奶说：
“我帮你开门吧！”
老奶奶又对他说：
“你是学生吗？”
娃儿点点头。
老奶奶继续说：
“你知道你要好好学习。
你在学校如果成绩好的话，
以后就会很有钱，
就可以买车，
就可以买所有你想买的东西。”
娃儿听到后，
摇了摇头。
老奶奶说：
“现在想要的东西让妈妈买给你也没关系！”
……
整个对话非常有趣。
让我想起了日本动画片里面，
突然出现的一个神秘老人。
最近确实日本动画片看多了，
看到一切事物，
都觉得像从漫画里走出来的一样。
再想想刚刚老奶奶说的话，
突然发现：
娃儿长这么大了，
我们确实从来没跟他说过：
“一定要好好上学，
以后才能很有钱，
才能买想要的东西。”
我突然意识到：
这一代，
我们的育儿理念真的完全变了。
首先，
我们已经知道：
在学校里听不听话、
成绩好不好，
其实和未来是否有钱，
并没有绝对关系。
而赚钱的意义，
也不仅仅只是：
“想买什么就能买什么。”
赚钱更大的意义，
其实是：
能让一个人的身体和精神，
都拥有更多自由。
而且现在已经不是：
单纯物质满足就够了。
因为那样活着，
其实会很累。
也不一定会让一个人真正快乐起来。
我们这一代人，
开始更在意的是：
一个人能不能真正开心、
自由、
幸福。
有没有能力创造属于自己的精神世界。
以及，
能不能因为自己的独特性，
给这个宇宙带来一些正面的影响。
……
这真是难忘的一天啊！
婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.05.23
原创发布： tingtingma.com
写给孩子，也写给正在成长的大人。
未经授权，请勿转载。
《Tingma’s Parenting Diary｜268. The Grandma Who Walked Out of a Manga》
By Pingting / May 23, 2026
One day,
I took my son to Walmart
to buy some snacks he likes.
As we were pushing the cart toward the entrance,
an elderly grandma in her seventies or eighties suddenly said to him:
“You’re a very handsome boy.
Do you know that?”
My son didn’t answer.
He shyly turned his face away.
When we reached another side entrance,
I said to the grandma:
“Let me help you with the door!”
Then the grandma asked my son:
“Are you a student?”
My son nodded.
The grandma continued:
“You know,
you need to study hard.
If you do well in school,
you’ll become very rich in the future.
Then you can buy a car,
and buy anything you want.”
After hearing that,
my son shook his head.
The grandma smiled and said:
“Well, for now,
it’s okay to let your mom buy things for you!”
…
The whole conversation was so interesting.
It reminded me of those mysterious elderly characters
who suddenly appear in Japanese anime.
Honestly,
I’ve probably watched too much Japanese animation lately.
Everything I see now
feels like it walked straight out of a manga.
Then I started thinking about what the grandma had said.
And suddenly I realized:
now that my son is growing up,
we truly have never told him:
“You must study hard,
so you can become rich someday
and buy whatever you want.”
That’s when it hit me:
our generation’s parenting philosophy
has completely changed.
First of all,
we already know that
whether someone is obedient in school,
or whether their grades are good,
does not necessarily determine
whether they’ll become wealthy in the future.
And the meaning of making money
is no longer simply:
“being able to buy whatever you want.”
The deeper meaning of money
is actually this:
it gives a person
more freedom—
both physically and mentally.
And nowadays,
simple material satisfaction alone
is no longer enough.
Because living that way
can actually feel exhausting.
And it doesn’t necessarily make someone truly happy.
What our generation cares more about now
is whether a person can genuinely be:
happy,
free,
and fulfilled.
Whether they can create
their own inner world.
And whether their uniqueness
can bring something positive
to this universe.
…
What a memorable day this was.
Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on May 23, 2026
Originally published at: tingtingma.com
Written for my child, and for the adults who are still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.