Week 9

Long Vang

ASA 2

Does “Tiger Parenting” exist?   No.  Do strict parents exist? Yes.  The reason why I chose to differentiate the two isn’t because I don’t think they are saying the same thing, but because I don’t believe it is necessary to give it another name.  The reason to this is because “Tiger Parenting” usually falls into generalizing strict Asian parents.  Asian parents aren’t the only ones that can be strict, but because of certain media and ideas that differ in raising your children it has lead others to believe Asian American parents are authoritarians.  Things like having to listen to your parents, getting only A’s, and not hanging out with your friends.  My idea as to why tiger parents exist in the first place is because most Asian American parents are immigrants.  There was a struggle and they left to seek new life and in their new life they also struggles.  They formed a belief that letting you obtain as much knowledge and experiences when you are young will let you walk an easier path then they have.  I say this because most talks with my parent results in them telling, feels like lecture though, me that going to school and getting a perfect grade will result in a good life.  There are some holes to this life lesson, but what is more important is to read between the lines.  Not everything is what is seems like when you are told you can’t hang out with your friends, most of the time you just want to hang out with the cool people who are a bad influence.  Parents are worried about your well-being whether strict or not.  The demandingness of you needing to learn everything is a way to teach you to be on your own and protect yourself from unforeseen events. It is wrong to label "tiger parents" to Asian American parents.  I believe a parent has to be strict on certain things to help guide their children's path and it is possible to do this while also loving them affectionately.