Nice article, I think you and your wife deserve a few of the credits for what Alex has accomplished. There were things Alex couldn't decide for himself when he was a child which is the most important phase for anyone to have a great foundation in all aspects of life. Many kids gets f...** up as early as 4 because of the very high expectations parents set for them - which if you would root - projects mostly their own dreams. You and your wife built Alex' confidence your way - FOR ALEX' sake and another kudos to that.
So Alex has been to Amsterdam(saw it on one of the pic there) or is he there now? Kudos for being so proud of your kids, not many parents compliment their kids these days and actually, in my experience - even when I tend to overdo it to boost my student's confidence - it gives the same effect of a minnow's vote compared to that of a whale. No amount of "You're amazing!" or "See you're getting better!" would cover up for "This is not good enough" that they hear from their parents. No amount of standing up for any child against their too pushy parents would help build any child's confidence but many parents don't realize that. They want children to be high achievers - not realizing that one of the key to achieving that is not be their own child's bully. I am not a parent but I resonate with your article because for every child I've taught - I felt the same. Sometimes, I wish there's a book of "Proper Parenting" written in step by step way about which really works to mold any child into becoming the best version he or she can be - most books related to that is either written in a story form and not bluntly put to any "aspiring parents" plate. Most of them - just stay on shelves not getting sold. I'm sure glad to have bumped in your post, I'll be checking out more of it and will be sharing for my other world of posts somewhere on the other side of the earth I'm in.