Stepson

[JBL]

Ok a bit of history we have been married for nearly 12 years, my stepson was just into his teens when we married and we both ( me and the wife ) decided to live in Australia, we could of up rooted the boy from Isaan to a culture shock which we have seen afflict some other kids of similar ages here and hope he would integrate & bounce on.....

We actually jointly discussed this with immediate family & came to the joint decision that with his current good grades a reasonably good head on his shoulders & the fact that he already resided with extended family on his fathers side that we could give him greater support from a distance... This decision how ever it was made was made and can't be undone, flame away if that's your prerogative......

So the outcome my stepson is about graduate from university with great scores, he has had direct support from both of us as individuals and from his father and our extended families, he traveled to Australia when he was 16 and spent time with us on holiday, & he has built his own online gaming biz that is generating his own income (prior to graduating from Uni) enabling him to further invest in his own business but also to be able to stand on his own feet..

For all of these facts we are extremely proud and we hear direct feelings echoed by his father ( with whom we have regular contact with) I for one who didn't finish school let alone go on to further education are proud as punch also.

So to you we pose the question - how do we mark, congratulate, celebrate & possibly reward this mile stone in a intelligent young mans life?

JBL

[Kwasaki]

What you have done sounds good, and I am sure you have made his mother happy with helping him.

How you two would mark, congratulate etc is by asking him what or is there anything he wants.

My only concern for him is, if he has as you say " built his own online gaming biz " if it is in Thailand, he could end up in a lot of trouble.

[Roadman]

He is rewarding himself financially, so why consider financial reward.

I would consider that the best reward you could give him (if you can afford it) is be there for his graduation day and personally bestow on him what you have said here - that you are very, very proud of him. Warm true feelings from parents are worth more than financial reward and assist with a worthy young persons all round development.

[JBL]

He is rewarding himself financially, so why consider financial reward.

I would consider that the best reward you could give him (if you can afford it) is be there for his graduation day and personally bestow on him what you have said here - that you are very, very proud of him. Warm true feelings from parents are worth more than financial reward and assist with a worthy young persons all round development.

Roadman thank you for your input

Your suggestion has not been dismissed but atop of my own list already - my only fear is if or how it is comprehended or translated - not by language but by cultural norms.

A small example, the celebration of a birthday - in my wife's case it hasn't been that important to contact or mark the occasion with family & I always hand her the phone on her sons birthday and ask her to give him a call, no huge reaction from either but I am happy, yesterday out of the blue I noticed it was one of my Thai nephews birthdays and sent him a message on Facebook - he was genuinely pleased that I had remembered

These cultural differences seem to be changing very quickly with the world becoming smaller with social media, and this alone is worthy of many forum debates....

So I am just trying in my own way to ensure that we hit the nail on the head

JBL