Because in each different position, what people care about is also different. Coach Anthony Hudson of the Thai national team shared that when video calling his mother after the 3-1 victory over Singapore in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-finals, the first thing she said was not congratulations but questioned her son's behavior.
The reason is that the English coach showed a tense attitude towards his colleague Gavin Lee on the other side of the front about a ball in the match. His mother did not talk about victory but aimed directly at the moment her son lost his composure. The question made the 45-year-old man shy. The incident spread in the media made him even more ashamed.
But perhaps also because of that, people easily realize a few things. As people often say, children, no matter how big they are, are still always small in their parents' eyes. Therefore, for a mother, the aura of fame or social status of a child is not as important as growing up to be a decent person, knowing how to behave properly. Mother's love is always unconditional, but not blindly covering up against behavioral stains. Saying images is like a sensitive radar, tracking children anytime, anywhere, ready to pull them back to earth whenever the ego or emotions flared up and exceeded the limit.
Second, it is the story of the foundation of family education. That question alone may be enough to feel the strictness in teaching and orienting children's thinking about how to treat society when they come into life. Moreover, that foundation and educational philosophy never ends when a child leaves home to enter life. Whether it is an innocent boy or has become a man carrying the expectations of millions of people, in the eyes of a mother, kindness and personality are always the most important "victory".
There are words of reproach not to create conflict or emotional distance, because hidden inside is constant care. And often, even though it is rampant everywhere, the "soft power" stemming from love is what keeps children living usefully, not being swept away by temptations.
