There is so much pressure to be successful that parents are putting extreme burdens on their children’s education. Unfortunately, this can lead to anxiety and stress on both parents and children. When does helping a child succeed interfere with their educational and mental well being? Helicopter parenting is becoming more extreme in the past few years, the pressure to be the perfect family is causing undo stress on the student and creating the opposite of perfection, failure.
The Oxford Dictionary defines Helicopter parent as “ a parent who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child or children”(Oxford). While helicopter parents argue that their help doesn’t affect their child negatively, studies show that this
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In addition to helicopter parents, there is another type of overbearing parent that is similar, the Tiger Mom. Although both styles of parenting can be aggressive, this type is not only geared more towards the child doing well but doing it without the parent’s help. Usually these types of parents have an Asian origin and are immigrants to America. These parents expect greatness from their children and because of their culture, failure of the child means the parent has failed. These Chinese parents consider themselves to be superior to American parents, for that reason they stress the importance at winning at everything the child does at any cost. Maureen Callahan interviews Amy Chua, best selling author of “ Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom”, she interestingly argues that “Chinese mothers are better than those of any other race, and these parenting methods are going to result in the West’s biggest fear- the continued rise and ultimately supremacy of China”(Tiger Mom). This type of parenting can lead to a phenomenon called the “imposter syndrome, this term is used to describe highly successful individuals who believe, deep down, they are frauds.”(Tiger Mom). While children of Chinese Immigrants are believed to have impeccable impulse control and are conditioned to do well under high stress situations, the results are the same as with a traditional helicopter parent, neurotic, highly stressed adults who cannot function well in society
Like the name of this article suggests, the writer's main purpose is to persuade the audience to make them believe that Chinese mothers are indeed superior. To support her argument she uses different methods to appeal to her audience's favor: she uses statistics of researches about Chinese mothers and Western mothers opinions, opinions that are mostly about how parents should or should not do when they are raising their children. She also uses passages of her life as a Chinese mother to support her argument. Also, she points out a few characteristics of western parents that are completely opposite to how a Chinese mother raises their children, which made her argument stronger. Nevertheless, there were some fallacies in her logic. One of her main fallacies is what we call "Hasty Generalization".
New Yorker Elizabeth Kalbert focuses on a story on America’s Top Parent. Amy Chua a writer on “The Roar of the Tiger mom,” Kalbert tells how there are two kinds of mothers. Amy Chua for instance is a Chinese woman who keeps her children from the outside world Chua, and her daughters of Chinese immigrants. Her daughters and herself practice their work every day and is a law school professor, who also includes only the best for her children. Although western mothers think they are being strict when their children were to practice their work.
Amy Chua utilizes evidence to verify that Western parenting practice is wrong and not as effective as Chinese parenting practice. In her article, Chua comments, “Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable-even legally actionable-to Westerners, “Hey fatty-lose some weight.” By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue” (Chua 54). She also gives her observation as evidence to convince Westerners treat their kid wrongly. She adds her observation in her article “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” “I also once heard a Western father toast his adult daughter by calling her “beautiful and incredibly competent.” She later told me that made her feel like garbage” (Chua 54). Brooks, in opposite, does not fight against to prove Chinese parenting techniques are completely wrong. However, he just want to give evidence so that Chua and Chinese, in common, understand Western parenting practices are good in some ways. In Brooks’ article, he clears, “So I’m not against the way Chua pushes her daughters” (Brooks 59). Furthermore, David Brooks writes in his article “I wish she recognized that in some important ways the school cafeteria is more intellectually demanding than the library” (Brooks
In the article “Helicopter Parents Now Hover at the Office,” The Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger reveals that some parents have begun to involve themselves into their adult children’s job search. Shellenbarger explains that many parent have a hard time watching their child struggle since they have taken part in their daily lives for so long. She then describes that some children do not appreciate the hovering of their parents because the hovering prevents them from developing self independence.
“In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that ‘stressing academic success is not good for children’ or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.’ By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way. Instead, the vast majority of the Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be ‘the best’ students, that ‘academic achievement reflects successful parenting,’ and that if children did not excel at school then there was ‘a problem’ and parents ‘were not doing their job.’ … Chinese parents spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams” (Chua 5). Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua is an engulfing novel which clearly distinguishes the difference between Western style of parenting and the Chinese style of parenting. The quote stated above shows some of the statistics that we completed to write this book. The story is a breathless and emotional memoir of Amy Chua, consisting mostly her two daughters and husband. While the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother appears to be about the battle between a parent and a child and the relationship they share, the author, Amy Chua, has actually implied that it is important for the children to start developing skills early on to benefit in the future as well as be successful in their lives.
The article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” by Amy Chua demonstrates the two different mind sets of parenting: Chinese parenting and Western approach to parenting. In my view, Chinese parenting is very strict about school work and extracurricular activities such as pianos and violins. For example, if we compare the two different sets of parenting; Chua says, for instance that Western parents believe that they are strict by forcing their kids practice their instruments for 30 minutes a day at most to an hour. This is nothing compared to the Chinese parents that would say the first hour of practice is easy it’s the second or third hour that gets tough (Chua 2011). This shows how forcefully strict the Chinese parents are compared to Western parents. The Chinese parents would say anything that really has to be said to their kid’s straight forward, but the Westerns would go about telling their kids, so it won’t hurt their feelings or their self-esteem. A few of these examples come to show that Chinese parents have intelligent kids, but are they intelligent enough for society? In other words are these Chinese children capable to work in group projects compared to an American kid that lives the usually life as a kid; like going to sleepovers and participating in different school activities. This is what David Brooks actually discusses about in his article “Amy Chua Is a Wimp”, says that Amy Chua’s way of parenting which is Chinese parenting isn’t effective enough. Well sure their kids are very intelligent and get high grades, but can they participate in well-functioning groups? One thing that Chinese parenting lacks in is a skill set that is not taught formally, but is imparted through strenuous experiences. This is exactly what Chua...
There are big differences in how Chinese mothers act towards their children compared to Western mothers including the expression of feelings and approval, the worth of their children, and what is best for them. Amy Chua (2011) incorporates her own personal experiences of being a Chinese mother within her article and compares that to what she witnesses in America.
Helicopter parenting is the term used to describe parents who are overly involved in their child’s lives/decisions, to the point it becomes a detriment for the child. Helicopter parenting can facilitate a child’s over dependence on the parenting system (van Ingen, 2015). Severe cases of helicopter parenting stunts a student’s ability to learn and grow independently. Helicopter parents indirectly communicate to their children, that they are unable to handle their own life. This can cause students to be fearful of making choices on their own, without first receive feedback from their parental figure. Helicopter parenting can also have far-reaching and lasting effects on a child’s psyche,
Amy Chua’s Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior was in “The Wall Street Journal” on January 8, 2011. She calls attention to the differences in parenting between cultures and why Chinese children are more successful. Chua is a famous author who written many books such as “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” and her newest book, “The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America.” She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Juris doctorate from Harvard.
Extreme parenting is absurd and irrational; bringing up a child this way is harmful, unrealistic, and unfair to the child and his or her future. Research shows extreme parenting has negative effects on children’s mental health and limits their personal development.
In this day and age, the media labels overbearing parents as helicopter parents, and the label itself has taken on a negative light due to the guilt by association. The ‘popular’ definition of helicopter parenting come from the ‘extreme’ cases (Jayson 5). The extreme cases in the news are just that, extreme cases; they do not depict helicopter parenting in general, and have been given the name Blackhawks (“Liftoff for ‘Helicopter’ Parents”). The idea of helicoptering has become a misguided ‘negative portrait’ by media using the term and ‘over parenting synonymously’, but the two terms should be used so. They are very different; over parenting is when a parent does not let the child think for themselves (Aucoin). Over parenting and helicopter parenting are not synonyms, but they are not quite antonyms. Helicoptering can become oppressive parents quite easily. Another side of over parenting is the side that ‘expects… immediate compliance’ to orders without giving reasoning. This style can cause below average ‘self-esteem… self-reliance and… social skills’ (McDevitt and Ormrod). The regular helicopter parenting is more common than what would be assumed as a study shows ‘60 to 70 percent’ of college parents have ‘some helicoptering behavior...
Although children may be born with genetic mechanisms that make them more prone to developing an anxiety disorder, parenting practices determine whether they will grow up to be fearful and dependent, or confident and independent (Schwartz, 2007). An Australian study done in the Centre for Emotional Health, suggests that overprotective and controlling parents, known as “Helicopter Parenting”, play a huge toll on children making them more anxious as they grow up (Sullivan, 2012). During the study, two hundred children were examined in the pre-school age and again five years later; the study found that children with high anxiety levels were more likely to have mothers who help too much. According to review published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, children who grew up with parents that provide inadequate warmth and affection, as well as supreme levels of criticism, were more likely to develop depression and anxiety disorders (Fitzgerald, 2012; Doyle, 2013).
However, she never considers the long term effects that Western style parenting has that is superior to her tiger mom parenting style. "Western parents seem much more concerned about their children’s psyches, their self-esteem, whereas tough immigrant parents assume strength rather than fragility in their children and therefore behave completely differently” (Luscombe). The Chinese parents ' lack of consideration for their children 's feelings put their future well being at risk. In fact, "suicide in China accounts for 26% of all suicides worldwide" (WHO). This astonishing fact causes people to raise eyebrows towards the long term effects that Chinese parenting causes. It gives children low self-esteem and depression that domino effect out of control as they grow
Parenting in today’s society is extremely competitive. Raising children has become the new sport interest to the parents, and the success that the kids achieve in life is the gold medal. You see the articles in magazines, the websites online, and the ads on TV that promote the newest and greatest parenting methods used by mothers and father everywhere. The differences we see in parenting can differ from family to family, but the biggest contrast is between the different ethnicities of the world. How a Western mother raises her child may be completely different than that of a Chinese mother. These differences are the ones that are observed by author Amy Chua, as well as mothers who have read her works of literature.
“Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” is an excerpt from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, a Yale Law professor. In this excerpt the author explains why Chinese children tend to be more successful in life and expresses her dislike towards Western parenting. The first idea Chua explains is a list of activities her daughters are allowed to do and not do in order to focus solely on academic progress. Second, the author demonstrates the contrast in mindset between Chinese mothers and Western mothers by explaining how Chinese mothers feel differently than Western mothers in regards to academic success and learning. Furthermore, she describes how Chinese mothers can demand things from their children. Finally, they can also say