A study investigated factors in Chinese language maintenance among balanced and pseudo-bilinguals who are second-generation Chinese-Americans. Subjects were 12 fifth-grade students in a Chinese-language school; half were balanced bilinguals (proficient in both languages) and half were pseudo-bilinguals (those in whom skills are more developed in one language than in the other). The children and their parents were administered a survey and interviewed. Analysis of results suggests parents have very strong differences in their reason for wanting to educate their children in two languages. Parents of balanced bilinguals tended to provide many more varieties of language input, and at some point in time, immerse their children in Chinese-speaking countries. Balanced bilingual children tend to believe in (1) putting more effort into learning two languages and (2) the fun of being bilingual. Findings may assist educators and immigrant families in increasing understanding and practices for raising children to be balanced bilingual. (MSE)