An article I found lurking on The Japan Times Online ^[1], discusses parental indulgence in Japan. An excerpt:

Such parental indulgence apparently runs rampant. Some allow their children to stay home from school on rainy days. When a teacher telephoned to ask about an absence, the parent responded, “I don’t want you to make my kid do things he doesn’t like.”

Ready for this? A teacher was requested to change the box at the school entrance into which a child stored his shoes. The one assigned, his mother insisted, was not aligned to give the proper fengshui.

Hey parents! Ain’t it time you grew up? ^[2]