When I think about my own childhood and the memories of my own acheivement, my father had an approach to praise that used to baffle me. He would never outwardly demonstrate his pleasure about any of my acheivements, whether it be academic, vocational or as a sporting champion. So we never celebrated any of my results. The outcome of this was that in years to come, I never told my parents about my many achievements and the goals I'd reached. This included the hundreds of Martial Arts competitions I fought it in or the many little successes I enjoyed.
The contrast between the relationship between my father and me and that between my children and myself is as stark as you can get. As a child, the communication between my father and I w...