Hey Tiger Mom– It’s Location, Location, Location
Tiger Mom is all over the place trash talking us moms in the West. Although I find her righteousness annoying, I do admire her business savvy. She clearly knows that in America, inflammatory insults are the fastest way to get tons of publicity.
I’m sure if she wrote a book that said, “Here’s one possible way to raise your kids, and parts of it worked for me and parts didn’t,” she probably wouldn’t have gotten so much attention. But say you’re better than American culture, and there is bound to be blow back.
Tiger Mom’s techniques may work well (or not) if you live in Tigerland. If you raise your tiger using Tiger Mom techniques, and you live in, say Dolphinville, your kid probably won’t fit in too well and won’t develop necessary dolphin skills.
Every culture has great moms. They are great because they are lovingly raising their children to be successful in their own culture, by their own cultural standards. Parenting and culture are not one-size-fits-all.
I definitely agree! Some mothers are doing their best and think they’re great moms by doing such but other moms from other parts of the world won’t agree. I did discuss one issue related to this, why most Desi mom-in-laws control their daughter-in-laws in my article “Marrying an Indian Man“. This moms are doing a great job based in their culture but not a good thing for someone else’s.
Gleenn
March 12, 2011