I once a tutored a girl whose father was never satisfied with her math results even when she scored an A1. When she failed, her dad would be nagging outside my door for about 10 minutes when he came to pick her up. When she passed, her dad would lament about her carelessness and laziness and how she would have scored much higher if only she had been more careful and more hardworking. Even when she got a distinction her dad said it was expected of her anyway, and it came too late anyway.
Thus I was speechless when I saw this video for the first time today: http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/video/dads-reaction-son-passing-maths-161306670.html
I just wish some parents are more loving towards their own children. I once had a tutee from HCI. Obviously he was a bright boy, but his mum kept using unkind words towards him. So one day, on the phone, I asked her, “Have you ever praised your son? When was the last time you praised him for anything?” She was stumped for a while, so I told her to start encouraging him instead, and be understanding whenever he was tired. Eventually their relationship improved, and so did his grades.
