Does “Tiger Parenting” Work?

By Carol Church, Writer, Family Album

Reviewed by Victor Harris, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida

Back in 2011, a book titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother shot to the top of the bestseller list. Readers were fascinated (and many were disturbed) by this account of an Asian American mother’s efforts to help her children succeed in academics and music through intense, highly involved, strict and controlling parenting. (One highlight: no sleepovers–ever!) Some parents I knew read the book and wondered: am I doing everything wrong, or is she?

Study Compared “Tiger” Parenting to Other Types

Researchers drew inspiration from this book for a 2013 study exploring the issue of real-life “tiger parenting”–and its consequences. Teens in Chinese-American families and their parents completed surveys about parenting styles in their families and the teens’ emotional well-being. Academic progress was also tracked. These surveys were repeated 4 and 8 years later.

Based on the results, researchers sorted parents into four groups: supportive parents, who were high in positive, proactive parenting traits like warmth and positive discipline while also being low in negative traits, like control and shaming; tiger parents, who were high in positive traits and negative traits; easygoing parents, who were low in both positive and negative traits; and hostile parents, who were high in negative traits and low in positive ones.

Best Option: Supportive Parenting

Contrary to stereotype, supportive parents actually made up the largest proportion of the sample. Tiger parents and easygoing parents were the second most common. Hostile parents, fortunately, were pretty uncommon.

Most importantly, though, children of supportive parents fared the best over time, both emotionally and academically. Children of tiger parents (and those of harsh parents) were more likely to report depression and feelings of alienation from their parents. What’s more, “tiger cubs” had lower GPAs and lower levels of eventual educational attainment than children of supportive parents, even though they felt more academic pressure.

Tigers, Change Your Stripes

So, although some “tiger parents” do seem to exist among Chinese American families, they are not as common as some assume, nor do they create highly successful “superkids.” In addition, the pattern has potentially negative effects on teens. It seems that parents can safely sheathe their claws in favor of a loving, mutually respectful relationship.

(Photo credit: Sumatra tiger papa to three Sumatra tiger cubs by Christine Majul. CC BY 2.0. Cropped.)

References:

Kim, S. Y., Wang, Y., Orozco-Lapray, D., Shen, Y., & Murtzua, M. (2013). Does “tiger parenting” exist? Parenting profiles of Chinese Americans and adolescent developmental outcomes. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 4(1), 7-18. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/a0030612

(Originally published in a slightly different form as: Church, C. (2013). Tiger parenting: Does it work? [Radio broadcast episode]. Family Album Radio. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida.)

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Posted: April 23, 2015


Category: Relationships & Family, Work & Life
Tags: Health And Wellness, Parenting


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