The Battle Between Authorities

Abstract

Tiger parenting is an authoritarian parenting style. The authoritarian parent demands that his or her children excel personally and academically. Professor Amy Chua popularized the term “tiger mother” and insisted that her strict rules and tough love approach were reasons behind her daughters’ successes. Nevertheless, critics suggest tiger parenting is unhealthy because it encourages children to develop low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. On the other hand, proponents are certain that tiger parenting results in superior intelligence and prosperous adults. Research concludes that culture and environment are also predictors of success.

Introduction

After the release of Yale professor Amy Chua’s memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, readers around the world equated “tiger parenting” with setting high standards, imposing strict rules, punishing with harsh consequences, and eliminating social activities. Because most parents want their children to be successful adults, Chua’s content propelled parents and researchers to investigate if her claims of tough love parenting resulted in high achieving children. In past and present research, developmental psychologists have reported that parental skills have significant bearing on children’s behaviour and achievements. Zervides and Knowles (2007) have noted that Diana Baumrind, a central figure in developmental psychology, used the terms authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive to identify distinct parenting styles. Authoritarian parents, or “tiger parents,” demand excellence from their children and exhibit low levels of sensitivity to their offspring’s needs. Authoritative parents also expect their children to perform to high academic levels, but they also consider their children’s developmental stages. Lastly, permissive parents do not demand their children to succeed and seem to have little interest in their children’s emotional well-being. Most researchers (Helding, 2012; Ishak, Low, & Lau, 2012; Wittenberg & Moore, 2011) have agreed that authoritative parents are the gold standard in parenting; however, Chua’s “tiger parenting” technique is also regarded as effective because it promotes academic excellence and high achievers. This research paper investigates the effectiveness of authoritarian parenting, or “tiger parenting,” compared with authoritative parenting and proposes that while parenting techniques are valid measures of children’s future successes, environments and cultures also predict their accomplishments. 

Helding (2012) revealed that her article might not offer empirical evidence of the positive and negative effects of “tiger parenting;” however, she reported the most controversial statements from Chua's memoir. As the mother of two girls, Chua revealed, “children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences" (as cited in Helding, 2012, p. 574). However, Chua also asserted that upon her eldest daughter’s acceptance to two Ivy League colleges, she did not believe that her parenting was the reason because “Sophia did it 100% herself” (as cited in Helding, 2012, p. 573). Essentially, Chua admitted that while “tiger parenting” was her method, it did not validate achievement. Overall, Chua contributed her daughter’s success to her daughter’s hard work. Nonetheless, “tiger parenting” advocates have claimed that Chua’s authoritarian approach developed Sophia’s ability to excel. 

On the other hand, Ed Smith (2012), an author and columnist, had reported that "Tiger moms" are misguided in their attempts to create prodigies. While Smith's (2013) column is not peer-reviewed, it offers a humanistic approach to the "tiger parenting” debate. Researchers rely on empirical evidence for proof, and "tiger mothers" mistakenly believe "that the secrets of exuberant ability can be observed and then replicated elsewhere to achieve the same results" (Smith, 2012, p. 62). In other words, parents cannot use the same approach because children have different strengths and weaknesses based on developmental stages, so they will respond to parenting styles depending on their age. Fundamentally, these differences will determine the proper approaches in discipline and parenting, so while “tiger children” may succeed academically, their siblings may want to develop relationships with others. Thus, parents should consider their individual children’s needs. 

Likewise, in their peer-reviewed study, Ishak, Low, and Lau (2012) explored parenting styles and the roles each style played in children's accomplishments. Because previous research suggested that authoritative parenting styles were the best practice in childrearing, Ishak et al. (2012) suspected that parents who raised their children to be autonomous had higher evidence of academic success. Using a structural equation model (SEM) approach, Ishak et al. (2012) offered empirical validation that authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles were equally indicative of high academic achievement; however, children raised with authoritative parents had higher conceptions of self-awareness that indicated self-confidence and positive self-images. Significantly, a SEM is a reliable measure because it studies the relationships between latent concepts. Incidentally, the children raised with authoritarian parents did not score as high, and while the children scored high in scholastic aptitude, they were lacking in social awareness (Ishak et al., 2012). On the other hand, Guo (2013), a college Education instructor, defended Amy Chua's “tiger parenting” and identified the importance of culture. 

Guo’s (2013) peer reviewed journal article has suggested that cultural factors may determine parenting styles and its results. Notably, Guo (2013) asserted that Chua’s combination of “harsh parental control and extreme demands for excellence” (p. 44) may come from central features of Confucianism. Guo (2013) revealed that the Chinese philosopher Confucius proposed ideal behaviour relies on "self-restraint" and the pursuit of knowledge. (p. 45). In this way, “tiger parents” are sincere in teaching their children to respect relationships within the family. One can argue that while peer relationships evolve over the course of one’s life, familial relationships offer permanency. Guo’s (2013) article was an important element in this research because cultural perspectives vary in parenting techniques, so while “tiger parenting” may prove to be effective in one culture, cultures that promote individuality and autonomy would value authoritative parenting styles.  

Depending on the location, children may have cultural influences that override parenting techniques. Kang and Moore (2011) have agreed that "An authoritarian parenting style emphasizes blind obedience and favours punitive discipline;” however, environments may lead “tiger children” to perform at lower levels than their authoritative raised peers. Specifically, Kang and Moore’s (2011) study identifies the differences in Western cultures and the Chinese populations. Thus, their evidence is indicative that culture plays a large role in a child’s development. On the other hand, in their study regarding Korean customs, Choi, Seung, Clark, Kim, and Park (2012) have proposed that parents would like to instil cultural awareness in their children, and in some cases, this may lead others to believe their parenting skills are authoritarian. Choi et al. (2012) noted that “tiger parenting” may be unfairly stereotyped as an Asian parenting technique, but, at the same time, their research reflected that some cultures encourage “core values of family hierarchy and respect for elders [that] may demand a strict set of behavioural rules” (p. 27). Similarly, Juang, Baolin Qin, and Park (2013) asked scholars to weigh the positive and negative effects of “tiger parenting.” The authors interviewed in Juang et al.’s (2013) article agreed that based upon others' research “tiger parents” and “tiger children” may be nothing more than labels invented by Chua. In retrospect, authoritarian parenting styles had been well defined before Chua’s memoir. As found in the supporting literature for this research, authoritative parenting styles has more evidence in emotionally healthy and successful children, so it appears that “tiger parenting,” or authoritarian parenting has little to do with children’s achievements. 

Subsequently, children’s development depends on parents’ interest and support for their children’s well-being and the children’s culture and environment. Deater-Deckard’s (2013) study revealed that cultural identity played a large role in children’s self-acceptance. Specifically, Deater-Deckard (2013) has reported that “Individual differences develop over the life span, driven by complex transactions between the individual and her or his environment” (p. 76). Indeed, “tiger parenting” seems to promote a high stress environment, so while self-acceptance is not an important element for “tiger parents,” one may consider that healthy individuals are able to adapt in a variety of environments because they have a sound awareness of differences. Thus, children who are raised in Westernized and Anglo civilisations or Chinese populations will naturally adopt their culture’s significant attributes. Moreover, Rutherford (2011) has emphasized the new importance of a healthy self-esteem and asserted, “The centrality of self-esteem in current parenting practices indicates that success may be influenced by how good children believe they are. (p. 408). Therefore, while “tiger parenting” may encourage children to succeed, the children grow up to be high achievers with low self-esteem and little social skills because their “tiger moms” ignored their need for autonomy and social relationships.

In sum, it seems that Chua’s memoir was contradictory at times because she admitted that her children’s successes and temperaments were due to their individual characteristics. Similarly, researchers that have identified authoritarian parenting techniques as foundations for academic success have also acknowledged that authoritative techniques that encourage self-awareness and independence also result in high achievers. Most importantly, established on the research, children will not prosper based on the same parenting techniques. Instead, children’s understanding of their culture and environment will add to a solid foundation of well-rounded emotional health. At the same time, there seems to be little research concerning parenting skills and gender, so it would be wise to investigate if males or females appreciate and grow from strict rules and discipline. In order to thoroughly investigate effective parenting, future researchers should compare and contrast female and male children against their mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles. Regardless of parenting techniques, it is apparent that children must learn to adapt in a variety of situations and environments because sooner or later, children grow into adults and will have to depend upon themselves.

References

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Deater-Deckard, K. (2013). “Tiger” parents, other parents. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 4(1), 76-78. doi: 10.1037/a0032066

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