"Tiger Mothers"

Amy Chua and her two daughters. Now those are some seriously fake smiles.

             Tiger mothers are a hot topic these days. By definition, these are mothers, most prominently of Asian decent, who take child rearing to the extreme. Amy Chua, a Yale law professor, wrote a book entitled "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" that describes the methods in which she instilled discipline  and responsibility into her children. They were not allowed to get any grade lower than an A in school, they were forced to practice their musical instruments for hours on end, even on the weekends and holidays, and they were not allowed to have sleepovers, play dates with other  kids, or watch any TV, ever! She even described that one time, on of her daughters refused to continue practicing the piano, so Chua forced her to sit and play the piano for the entire rest of the day all the way until bedtime, going without dinner or bathroom breaks. Chua believes that this strict method of parenting will create a successful, high achieving individual.
             Well I think that is one huge load of bull cr*p! I could not be more appalled by this method of parenting.  How terrible is that to force your young children to live in such a manner that they are perpetually afraid of your wrath. I could never imagine treating my own children that way, or any children for that matter. Children need the freedom to explore the world around them, play in the dirt, rough-house,  interact with everyone, socialize, make mistakes and learn lessons from them. Children must learn how to make decisions about their well-being for themselves, or what are they going to to when they move out on their own. They will have no idea how to moderate themselves and they might just go crazy.  Socialization, or learning about certain behaviors and the culture around them, is vital to the development of a young person. Children are only human and shouldn't learn that if they don't succeed in everything they do, that they have failed as a person Failure is part of the human experience, and it both normal and healthy make mistakes and then move on. Your parents are the ones who are supposed to be there for you to support you no matter what, and to be the comforting figure to fall back upon. The world is harsh enough as it is without living in absolute fear in your own house. I feel bad for these kids who grow up in such a manner. The way Chua describes her ways, she seems to believe that her children will eventually thank her later on for what she did for them. I think not. I knew people in high school who grew up with varying degrees of tiger mothers, and from what I heard, they hated their parents. They weren't allowed any creative outlets, no movies with friends or vacation time. They couldn't wait to get out of their houses and go to college and finally be free to make decisions for themselves. I can pretty much bet those kids won't be visiting their parents any time soon.

Post by Audrey Tuna

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-tiger-mother-parenting-20110121,0,4515208.story