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Tiger Mom, Eagle Dad, or Sheep Parent?

Monday, 03 September, 2012, 6:10pm

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Beijing socialites are signing up to the country's first school of etiquette, writes Simon Parry, and its Hong Kong-born founder is on a mission to reawaken traditions of courtesy.

As a new school term starts, headaches abound for parents: food and campus safety, rising tuition fees, various after-school programmes, and the debate about national education. But more fundamentally, what kind of parent are you, and what kind do you want to be? The Tiger Mom, the Eagle Dad, or the stereotypical western laissez-faire "Sheep Parent"?

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foxlore Sep 11th 2012
4:24pm

what is 'aissez-faire'? I think there might be an "L" hanging around somewhere. ;-P
Aren't 'all' of these stereotypes?
We all want to do the best we can by our kids. But is there really a universal single 'best' method?
How many folks had a tiger mom/eagle dad? Of them, how many folks can be Amy Chua (if you consider her a model of success)? Is is a question of how much 'tiger' or 'eagle' is enough? I think there is more to it than that.

kellyyangmonick Sep 5th 2012
5:34pm

Because so many other people in HK are tiger moms, I feel sometimes I have no choice but to be a tiger mom myself. It is like what Thomas Hobbes once said -- it's not what others actually do, but the fear of what others might do that drives us. -- Kelly Yang