Tiger mother

Tiger parenting is strict or demanding parenting. Tiger parents push and pressure their children to attaining high levels of academic achievement or success in high-status extracurricular activities such as music, using authoritarian parenting methods. The term 'tiger mother' (虎妈 or 'tiger mom') was coined by Yale Law School professor Amy Chua in her 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. A largely Chinese-American concept, the term draws parallels to strict parenting styles typically enforced throughout households in East Asia. Since the rise of Amy Chua's memoir and the tiger mom phenomenon into the American mainstream during the early 2010s, the tiger mom has been a caricatured figure in modern Chinese society as well as in Overseas Chinese communities around the world. Chua's rise to fame quickly popularized the concept and term 'tiger mother' spawning numerous caricatures while also becoming the inspiration for the 2014-2015 Singaporean TV show Tiger Mum, the 2015 mainland Chinese drama Tiger Mom, and the 2017 Hong Kong series Tiger Mom Blues. The stereotyped figure often portrays a Chinese mother who relentlessly drives her child to study hard, to the detriment of the child's social and physical development, and emotional well-being. Tiger parenting is strict or demanding parenting. Tiger parents push and pressure their children to attaining high levels of academic achievement or success in high-status extracurricular activities such as music, using authoritarian parenting methods. The term 'tiger mother' (虎妈 or 'tiger mom') was coined by Yale Law School professor Amy Chua in her 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. A largely Chinese-American concept, the term draws parallels to strict parenting styles typically enforced throughout households in East Asia. Since the rise of Amy Chua's memoir and the tiger mom phenomenon into the American mainstream during the early 2010s, the tiger mom has been a caricatured figure in modern Chinese society as well as in Overseas Chinese communities around the world. Chua's rise to fame quickly popularized the concept and term 'tiger mother' spawning numerous caricatures while also becoming the inspiration for the 2014-2015 Singaporean TV show Tiger Mum, the 2015 mainland Chinese drama Tiger Mom, and the 2017 Hong Kong series Tiger Mom Blues. The stereotyped figure often portrays a Chinese mother who relentlessly drives her child to study hard, to the detriment of the child's social and physical development, and emotional well-being. The tiger mom is analogous to other parenting stereotypes such as the American stage mother who forces her child to achieve career success in Hollywood, the stereotypical Japanese kyōiku mama who takes an enormous amount of effort in directing much of her maternal influence towards development of their children's educational and intellectual achievement, or the Jewish mother's drive for her children to succeed academically and professionally, resulting in a push for perfection and a continual dissatisfaction with anything less or the critical, self-sacrificing mother who coerces her child into medical school or law school. The origin of the concept, term, and neologism traces its roots in ancient Confucian teachings articulated through classical anthologies such as the Analects of Confucius written more than two millennia ago. The concept is influenced by Confucianism, an ancient Chinese philosophy developed by the philosopher Confucius in the 5th century BC that promoted attributes such as filial piety, family values, hard work, enduring hardship, honesty, and dedicating oneself towards academic excellence through the pursuit of knowledge. As Chinese and East Asian society have been influenced by the thought of the ancient Chinese scholar, his teachings still plays a role in attitudes toward education in East Asia. Many contemporary Chinese families strive to inculcate the value and importance of an education in their child at a young age. Higher education is an overwhelmingly serious issue in Chinese society, where it is viewed as one of the fundamental cornerstones of Chinese culture and life. Education is regarded with a high priority for Chinese families as success in education holds a cultural status as well as a necessity to improve one's socioeconomic position in Chinese society. These values are embedded deeply in Chinese culture, parent-child relations and parents' expectations for their children. For the Chinese, the importance of education was considered a crucial means for channeling one's upward social mobility in ancient and medieval Chinese societies. In contemporary Mainland China, national examinations such as the Gaokao remain the primary path for channeling one's upward social mobility. While 'tiger mother' is a generic term for the tiger parenting phenomenon, representing a concept that was not commonly known until the publication of Chua's book, the broader phrase 'tiger parenting' also acknowledges the fact that fathers or other parent-figures can also instigate, participate in, or be accomplices to the behavior. Western parenting tries to respect and nurture children’s individualism while Chinese parents believe that arming children with in-demand job skills such mathematical and scientific proficiency, strong work habits, and inner confidence prepares them best for the future. Parents who set up rules that overstep conventional parental boundaries are regarded as either tiger mothers or (less commonly) tiger fathers. Tiger parents prioritize schoolwork above all else and only allow children to participate in activities in order to potentially win awards which they believe will increase the chance of the child's acceptance to the elite universities. It is said that 'Asian American parents provide a constant wind beneath their children's wings'; meaning tiger parents constantly propel their children towards their commitment towards excellence. In a similar way, Chinese tiger parents pay more attention to students core academic subjects such as math, science, and language arts and sometimes (not always)ignore other non-academic activities such as art and sports in order to ensure their children's superior performance in their core academic subjects. Tiger parents emphasize a commitment towards excellence in academia and award-winning non-academic achievements such as performing classical music instruments. Some also choose to incorporate competitive sports for their children. This unusually high level of expectations may stem from parental love and care, as well as a strong desire to pave the way for their children’s future success, as playing an instrument or being proficient in a competitive sport often serves as a cosmetic addition of extracurricular activities that may look good on college applications. Many Chinese tiger parenting families have a huge emphasis on academic achievement. Extrinsic rewards play a role in the Confucian cultural value system Chinese parents communicate and inculcate in their children at a young age. The strong emphasis on high academic achievement is often seen as a source of stress for Western parents while Chinese parents see the stress of academic achievement on their children as a sign of good parenting reinforced by the entire Confucian cultural value system. Tiger parents try to reinforce higher levels of psychological and behavioral control over their children than other parents. Tempering a child's self-esteem may be part of this strategy. Psychological control comes in many forms but it rooted when parents work to constrain children’s autonomy through psychologically manipulative tactics such as the withdrawal of love or induction of guilt. While behavioral control is focused on setting limits on children's activities, often referring to academics and limiting behavioral problems. In Chua's memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, she mentions an incident that she yelled at her daughters, calling them ‘garbage’ in public. It has been shown that tiger parents are less likely than other parents to compliment their children in public as well. Children raised by tiger parents may be met with emotional threats and low-impact physical punishments if they failed to practice their piano scales and meet their expectations. Moreover, some tiger parents do not allow their children to make some decisions on their own, whether in academia or daily life. For instance, Chua's daughters were not allowed to watch TV at night or have sleepovers with their schoolmates.