Chinese Parents: The Tiger Mother

Especially as of late, I've noticed that almost every Chinese parent portrayed in the media is guilty of extreme parenting. This is often done in a comedic form, but it reinforces the stereotype of overbearing and perfection-demanding parents who practically abuse their children in order to get the desired results of perfect grades and genius children. One example of this is a video talking about a book by Amy Chua entitled The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. This book explains her extreme parenting styles as she raises her two daughters and demands nothing less than perfection. Here is the video that talks about her book and what implications it has had.

Another example of this kind of single story that the media portrays about Chinese parents is the kind of parents shown in children's television shows. It seems that almost every group of young children has "that one smart Chinese kid" who never wants to go out and do fun, rebellious things with their friends because they need to study their math homework. This has a lot of serious implications because it enforces in children at a young age that their Chinese friends are going to be good at math and never be allowed to play because their parents won't let them. Just one example is Pheobe from "Hey Arnold". She is shown as the know-it-all Asian girl who pipes up whenever anyone has an opinon. Here is a link to one of the episodes where she explains all about the good healthy things in prunes right before she talks about accepting her award for academic excellence.

With all of these media outlets portraying Chinese children as genius overachievers, it puts a pressure on those children to perform to meet these standards that the public expects from children of their ethnicity. It also is very damaging to parents and children alike who aren't like those stereotypes. These assumptions in a way push Chinese children into a corner and cause their peers to be disappointed when they don't meet this standard. Here is a fantastic video about a woman who talks about the idea that there are positives in this traditional way of Chinese parenting, but it mostly profiles her move away from that. We need to recognize this culture as full of individuals who are just like everyone else who don't share the same cultural background and to not expect this unfair stereotype.