Recent years, Chinese traditional way to rear a child has raised great interest to westerners. The typical Chinese parenting, which is known as "Tiger Parenting" do cultivate some talents. Moreover, a lot of Chinese possess well controlled behavior and they are inclined to obey all the rules set by their parents, working hard to achieve success. That is why Tiger Parenting is so attractive to more and more westerners that they are constantly discussing that and even desperate to try, when their children often fail to live up to their expectations. However, is Tiger Parenting truly the best choice? I don 't think so. Despite all the prominent achievements made, in reality Tiger Parenting has more disadvantages than its advantages. It stumbles in three ways.
To begin with, Tiger Parenting prohibits children 's creativity. In her essay "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior?", Amy Chua, the Yale professor, who recently wrote a book on this topic, gives us a general picture of her "successful" model of raising a child. She mentions that attending a sleepover is not allowed. With all the rules to follow, her two girls are both growing up under her tough control. Throughout growth, everything comes in order, and mistakes or any deviation are not allowed. Children will do exactly what their parents tell them to do. Suppose you ask a child why he is so obedient, he will probably tell that is because his parents tell him to do so. But, as Kevin Arnold, a noted psychologist, says,"The price of comformity is the loss of creative potential...Children reared by a Tiger Mom risk having never learned to think outside the box."(1) Perhaps that 's the reason why Nobel Prize winners are not always among Chinese. Children are least likely to have creative minds because of Tiger Parenting.
In addition, Tiger Parenting fails to make children become self-determined and alienates them from society. Typically, most Chinese kids are blocked at home, doing what their parents think will benefit them in the future such as studying and playing instrument; while many western children are playing outside with their friends. Chinese kids are busy with their homework and achieving high marks their whole adolescence. What 's worse, they are discouraged to associate with people outside. Hanging out with friends is not allowed, either. As they grow older, teenagers tend to anticipate in some social practice,for instance, part-time jobs and volunteering in communities. What about Chinese teenagers? They keep on studying and studying. It 's all about studying. They are apt to exert their utmost to be well-prepared for countless examinations. Among all these examinations, the most important one is the College Entrance Examination. Yet, it 's very ironic that both the college and the major are always proved to be their parents ' choices. Because their parents have paved the way for them, they barely have ideas about what kind of persons they really want to be. If there is any, their dreams will probably be stifled by their parents.
Last but not least, Tiger Parenting might lead to psychological problems of children in the long term. In her essay, Chua indicates that pushing hard is a way of education. Admittedly, her technique will enable her children to be successful in certain fields, which both her children and she could be proud of for the rest of their lives. But actually, psychological problems the child suffers can be a great loss that any fame and prestige cannot be offset. Children in this case are prone to be anxious about everything and unwilling to interact with people. It 's no wonder that many Chinese kids are extremely shy and afraid of talking to strangers. All these problems might have a side effect on their future life. Furthermore, children under hash control have a inclination to be quite rebellious. As a result, the relationship between child and his parents is usually fragile and in tension, and it takes a long time to melt the intensity away.
Taking all above into consideration, we can come to a conclusion that Tiger Parenting is least likely to rear a child who is creative in mind, self-determined and psychologically healthy. Compared to the western style, Tiger Parenting seems to be an inhumane way focusing on managing and controlling instead of "parenting" itself, which I think has deviated from the essence of parenting.
Works Cited Arnold, Kevin G. "Is Being a Tiger Mom Really the Best Example of Good Parenting? " Psychology Today ( 29 January 2011 ). Chua, Amy. "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" The Wall Street Journal ( 8 January ,2011 ).
Cited: Arnold, Kevin G. "Is Being a Tiger Mom Really the Best Example of Good Parenting? " Psychology Today ( 29 January 2011 ). Chua, Amy. "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" The Wall Street Journal ( 8 January ,2011 ).
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