GE1401
University English
Argumentative essay
Argumentative essay
Tiger
parenting style should be discouraged
Lam Nga Yan, Cyndi
SID: 53559755
Lam Nga Yan, Cyndi
SID: 53559755
According to the Oxford
Dictionary, tiger mother is a strict or demanding mother who pushes her children to
high levels of achievement, using methods regarded as typical of childrearing
in China and other parts of East Asia. We should be familiar with
this term under years of living in a Chinese traditional family. There is also
a more common term called the Soccer mom, which refers to a mother who spends a
lot of time and also money taking her children to various kinds of activities
such as music classes, sports, etc. Actually, the most famous tiger mom is
originated from Amy Chua in the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011).
It is a book listed on the bestseller booklist for weeks; its online version has been
read more than 1 million times and it has attracted more
than seven thousands comments so far.
As mothers often play a more important
role on teaching children while fathers spend more time working outside to earn
money for family, it does not mean that fathers are not involved. In this
passage, I am going to argue for the tiger parenting method in Hong Kong nowadays.
Let me show you some extreme cases
for blindly implanting the parenting strategy. In China, there is a 'Tiger
Dad' who trains his 3-year-old
son with heat and cold. For example, he
provided nothing for his son to wear on a snowing day no matter how loud was
his son crying and begging. He asked his son to fly a helicopter when he was
only three. He even shared some of the video-tapes of his ‘tiger training
procedures’ on social networking sites. Some of these actions are considered
cruel by the public as even a normal adult cannot bear this kind of severe suffering.
So how can a child do so?
Tiger parenting method has raised
so much criticism and caused controversy. Some say that it deprives the right of
children to enjoy their innocent childhood. As normal kids could enjoy their
wonderful weekend on family activities and games, nonetheless, meanwhile some
kids may spend their time with music or tutorial classes. They have to do
everything in advance so that they can have a higher chance for achievement in
the future. For children who have to fight for their future living and sacrifice
their childhood, they might feel regretful later for losing their precious
memory. Moreover, if children are always kept under stress, the huge
psychological pressure may lead to mental illnesses. Children may suffer from
depression and other emotional problem such as anxiety disorder. Research also
finds that they would experience low self-esteem; have poor relationship people
including their parents, teachers and friends. The worst situation may come to
violence and behavioral problem. If the problem continues, the quantity of
hidden mental illness patients in society will increase more obviously. Then, the
trend of the above mental illnesses will become more youthful in society, hence
this causes social health problem.
By taking the Happy Planet Index
of Hong Kong as reference, Hong Kong has a score of 37.5, which is ranked 102
out of the other 151 analyzed regions. The calculation includes mainly three
aspects, experienced well-being, life expectancy and ecological footprint and
Hong Kong people have a very high life expectancy score. The analysis shows that
parents may have over-expectation on their children and they want their
children to take the advantage when they are small so that they need not to
worry about their living as well as to enjoy quality assured living standard. On
the growing process, children somehow cannot fulfill all the requirements of their
parents; they may blame themselves for not satisfying their parents and eventually
lead to sorrow, sadness and disappointment among the family.
As a Chinese saying goes ‘Teach
students in accordance with their aptitude’, everyone has different
abilities. I believe that the practice of choosing the hobbies for children is
inappropriate. As children have been trained since they were young, they do not
have time to understand themselves and know what they really want. Their parents
just choose the musical instrument or kind of sports for their own sake or
flavor. As a result, the children would only be forced to keep practicing and they
may realize that they do not like the kind of hobby after they grow up.
In
conclusion, tiger parenting style is not suitable for Hong Kong children. Amy
Chua, the initiator of the tiger mom also said on her website that ‘I genuinely
believe that there are many ways of being a good parent.’ She also shares the
point of view that her style does not imply on everywhere. Actually, every parent
will definitely want to provide the best thing for their children;
nevertheless, they do not know the correct path. Being a parent is not a piece
of cake as they also have to learn how to teach and breed us. They may think of
some extreme childrearing ways which may lead to negative counter effects that they
do not intend to cause. Therefore, my last recommendation is to discard the
old-minded tiger parenting style but start to understand your children. You may
find yourselves learning from them!
List of sources:
3)
Article 1: Tiger Moms: Is Tough
Parenting Really the Answer?
By Annie Murphy Paul
By Annie Murphy Paul
4) Article
2: Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
By AMY
CHUA , Erin Patrice O'Brien
5) News: want china times, tiger dad
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120903000005&cid=1103
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnNJBz1t_gk
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120903000005&cid=1103
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnNJBz1t_gk
6) Hong
Kong Happy planet index
