Tiger Mom Research Paper

Tiger Mom: The Oppressive Matriarch In today’s cut-throat educational system the students are forced to be driven and the courses are demanding; there is no room for the weak, and those who are unable to perform amongst the top are left to fend for themselves. The unyielding desire for their children to succeed has caused parents to subject their children to very high academic standards. These overbearing parents expect their child to maintain a minimum of a 4.0 GPA and take four advanced placement (AP) classes, while immersed in extracurricular activities; they presume the only way their child will prosper is through extremely active engagement in his or her academics. While some define a “privileged education” to be the involvement of parents …show more content…
The constant demand for outstanding grades and extraordinary talent in extracurricular activities leaves students feeling empty, depressed, anxious and angry. Despite their superficial appearances, beneath the surface are broken, disconnected, miserable adolescents who are naïve to life outside of a classroom. These overbearing parents tend to compensate for their child’s vulnerabilities, fearing for their child’s exposure to the harsh realities of the adult world and sheltering them from perceived adversities (Levine 3). As a result, parents are interfering with a vital part of adolescent growth: psychological development. This is a crucial foundation to a child’s sense of self. Without this internal structure, teens will feel boredom, vagueness, unhappiness, and a dependence on others. Although these parents genuinely want their child to succeed, they go about it in the wrong way. Constantly pressured and overly criticized, their children feel devoid of love, yet these “tiger moms” remain emotionally unavailable for reinforcement of affection (Levine 5). Even more harmful, these parents tend to step in and do for a child what the child should be doing for him or herself (Greenberg). Not only does this interrupt development of critical thinking skills such as planning one’s future, over-involvement of parents can prevent a child from …show more content…
Research has found that “the inappropriate, anxiety-driven parenting tactics not only compromise children's autonomy, mastery, and personal growth, they often reflect a critical attitude by parents, who praise their children when they do well, but withdraw affection, subtly or overtly, when they don't bring home that A grade” (Marano). Causing a child to feel desolate simply because he or she fails to meet the rigor will later produce a fear of failure in routine activities. Thus, these Tiger Moms inhibit their young adult from properly functioning in interpersonal relationships without anxiety of rejection or criticism (Levine 6). Simply as Albert Einstein stated, “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded by the individual.” This quote illustrates the significance of a child’s psychological growth: without these skills one might become ‘invaluable” in human society. Furthermore, over-involvement prevents the adolescent from learning necessary coping skills (Bayless). As a result, the child will feel incapable of dealing with the stresses of life on his own. If an adolescent is unable to cope with trivial challenges such as making eye contact in an interview, it will be even more difficult for the student to execute essential communication skills. Consequently, the failure to develop these