With the publication of the book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua in 2011, tiger parenting gained popularity and has been a parenting buzzword for more than ten years. Chua describes in it the rigorous upbringing she gave her two children as well as the accomplishments she wanted them to have in school and outside of it.

Chua did not create tiger parenting, despite the fact that she may have popularized it; the idea is akin to a long-standing “authoritarian” parenting approach. However, she undoubtedly started a conversation regarding this strict parenting approach. What, then, is a tiger parent? And does this tough strategy pay off?

tiger parenting

Tiger Parenting: What Is It?

In Western society, the term “tiger parenting” was first used by Yale Law School professor and mother Amy Chua. Chua notes in her book that the strong morality and ethics of Confucian thought served as the inspiration for her parenting method. In her book, she also contrasted conventional Chinese and Western parenting styles.

It refers to a parenting style characterized by strict discipline, high expectations, and an intense focus on academic and extracurricular achievements. Tiger parents typically push their children to excel academically and often demand perfection in various aspects of their lives.

Tiger parenting puts a lot of demand on the child and there’s a lot of parent direction, as opposed to child direction. That is to say, parents make the decisions, and kids have to abide by them or else be in trouble. Tiger parents have high demands on their kids but also produce kids who are very high achievers.

How Do Tiger Parents Raise Their Children?

Here are several characteristics of tiger parents:

1. High standards for academic performance: Tiger parents set extremely high standards for their children, expecting them to excel in school and achieve top grades.

2. Tight schedules: Kids raised in tiger parenting households typically have very strict schedules that provide little time for leisure, socializing, or free play. These schedules often involve long study sessions and extracurricular activities.

3. Strict regulations: Tiger parents enforce strict rules and discipline, with little tolerance for disobedience or excuses. Physical or emotional disciplinary measures can accompany this.

4. Concentrate on particular skills: Parents typically demand that their kids become proficient in specific areas, such as athletics or playing an instrument. Tiger parents invest a significant amount of time and resources into these pursuits.

Children who grow up in tiger households are also typically exceedingly courteous. They say ‘please’ and ‘thank you”.  Everybody loves a child or young adult who says ‘please’ or ‘thank you.”

Tiger Parenting: Its Benefits and Drawbacks

Tiger parenting has advantages and disadvantages. Children may learn to push themselves and be disciplined. Children of tigers also often grow up with solid work ethics and aspirations. These children often grow up to have mastery of a craft or talent and achieve in their careers.

However, tiger parenting has several disadvantages, even though it can result in successful children. While some tiger parents mean well, their offspring may exhibit higher levels of anxiety.

Additionally, children raised by tigers may experience high levels of stress, which may have long-term mental health implications. These children often have experienced trauma and abuse if they ever disobeyed their parents’ demands.

Children raised in tiger parenting households typically have restricted social development. Children raised in this style may have limited opportunities to develop social skills and make friends, as academic and structured activities often dominate their schedules.

Connections between parents and children can also be strained by tiger parenting. Kids may see the strict upbringing and their relationship with their parents as unfavorable.

Some children may even rebel against their parents or only abide by their regulations when their parents are around. Sometimes, the presence of the parent keeps the behavior there, but when the parent is not there, the behavior is not always there either.

In selecting a parenting approach, medical professionals advise considering the requirements of your children and your family to determine what works best for you. Understanding your kid’s needs at each stage of growth and figuring out what you would like them to learn may help with how to parent your children.

Overall, it’s up to parents to do their inner work to discover how they can find their  parenting style.

At the end of the day, parents must remember that their children are not their possessions or experimentations but unique sovereign beings who are on the planet to fulfill their potential and to know who they are.

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Happy parenting!

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