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Are today’s parents toothless tigers?

Tory Shepherd

by Tory Shepherd

25 Jan 05:40am

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Filed under: Children, Families, Parenting, Parents, Society

52 comments

We’ve had free-range parenting, helicopter parenting, attachment parenting and now we have ``tiger mums’‘.

Yeah, they're all going to be lawyers. Photo: AP

In case you missed the shitstorm, Yale University Professor Amy Chua has penned a book called Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in which she says that the recipe for successful child raising involves:

  • Never going to sleepovers or playdates.
  • Never watching television, playing computer games or choosing their own extracurricular activities.
  • Never not being the number one student in every subject except gym or drama, and never playing any instrument other than the piano or violin.

Naturally parents around the world went nuts. It seems inhumane, cruel, and designed to create an army of overachieving academics who fail dismally in the murky soup of real life.

But Professor Chua does have a point.

She says one of the major issues with `Western’-style parenting (if there is such a thing) is that parents are far too concerned about their kids’ self esteem.

As an aside here, I recognise that each generation has a propensity to criticise the one that comes after it for the very things it was itself criticised for.

And yet - there does seem to be an inordinate number of tweens, teens and 20-somethings suffering from FIG JAM syndrome.

They haven’t had their mettle tested, and yet they seem to consider themselves the very pinnacle of beauty, intellect and wit.

Self confidence is a glorious thing, and a great asset. But when it’s built on imaginary foundations, you’re in trouble.

So this false building up of self esteem, by endless praise and by removing serious competition from schools, is setting children up for a fall.

And these days each of us has a chance to see the manifestation thanks to social media.

Facebook particularly is all about a vainglorious celebration of self, pouting self portraits accompanied by the adoration of others - `OMG! Soooo hot!’.

No one wants a generation of cripplingly shy self doubters.

But self doubt has a place.

It’s self doubt that stops me donning a midriff-baring top and thus exposing the wider world to the shifting morass of my abdomen. Be thankful.

Yesterday I made a cracker of a mistake. Generally I’m filled with self doubt, which makes me double and triple check everything that I do. But I was feeling strangely confident doing a relatively new task.

So of course, I cocked it up - because I thought I was better than I actually was. Lesson learned.

Professor Chua sounds frightful. In a Wall Street Journal article she described the various ways she threatened her daughter - telling her she’d get no Christmas or Hannukah presents and no birthday parties for years, and calling her lazy, cowardly, self-indulgent and pathetic - for not playing a piano piece perfectly.

She is an abusive parent.

But it is also a form of abuse to convince your child that they are something they are not.

Parents and teachers should be nurturing, should encourage talent, should help a child develop self confidence.

They should never mislead a child, give them a false perception of themselves.

These children, when they go to high school, to university, or into the workplace, have that facade sheered away in an instant.

These are the new employees who come in with a sense of entitlement that alienates colleagues immediately. These are the students who, when they fail, will cast around looking for someone to blame.

In the real world, there are winners and losers, and children will be best served if they can learn and thrive in both situations.

Most commented

52 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • TChong says:

      06:51am | 25/01/11

      The “shitstorm ” is called a ( contrived) publicity stunt.
      Ms Chua and her publishers thank you.

      Reply

    • Mayday says:

      06:54am | 25/01/11

      This womans attitude to her children is extreme and I noted in the articles I read the father was never mentioned, is she a single mother?

      Parenting is a tough job and by separating the behaviour from the child itself I think you can still discipline them and put them on the right track .

      To go straight for the jugular with “lazy, cowardly, self-indulgent and pathetic”
      is undermining her daughters sense of self, her behaviour may not be up to scratch,  at times we all “drop the ball and make mistakes.”

      We are not perfect, we are human.

      Reply

    • Rachel says:

      08:04am | 25/01/11

      If you read the the original article in the link, she does mention her husband Jed.

    • Elphaba says:

      08:02am | 25/01/11

      I don’t even know why we’re giving her the time of day.  Her parenting style will be exposed for the bullshit that it is when her child ends up in therapy for the next 20 years.

      I agree with what you’re saying though, Tory - competition should be encouraged, winners and losers should be granted, but we should remind kids that if you don’t win, it’s ok.

      I lost count of how many events in athletics carnivals I came stone dead last in (I was/am the bookworm type), but it didn’t matter.  I lost.  Big deal.  You just move on, and parents who praise and encourage you even when you fail are doing the job right.

      Reply

    • AFR says:

      12:22pm | 25/01/11

      Therapy? you will find there is no room for “mental illness” in Asian culture. Dperession doesn’t exist.

    • Grumpy says:

      02:40pm | 25/01/11

      @ AFR Plenty of Japanese people kill themselves.

    • AFR says:

      03:20pm | 25/01/11

      Grumpy, that’s exactly my point (sorry, again the lack of sarcasm font) - nobody admits these things and seeks help, hance why suicide rates are so high.

    • Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:

      10:46pm | 25/01/11

      I work with youth & constantly meet kids who think that some fool will give them an apprenticeship just because they want one yet expect it just because they want it

    • Carolyn says:

      08:04am | 25/01/11

      The most important thing for young people to learn is resilience. To learn this, they have to try things, fail and move on to try again.

      Reply

    • Heather says:

      08:55am | 25/01/11

      So true Carolyn. Many modern parents do not teach their children resilience, and instead teach them to blame others for any misfortune, not matter how trivial. I also agree that children should be encouraged to try anything, even if they “suck” at it. Take sport for instance; participating in sport improves mental and physical health, encourages team work and social skills; however, why should only those who are good at something, enjoy it? My main bugbear however is not so much those precious protected little possums, but the older people, often of my Boomer generation who spend their whole lives whinging and blaming their parents for their stuffed up lives. For f* sake, get over it and take some responsibility for your own life. The bad part is, some of those with the WORST, most abusive, childhoods, are the most “normal” and the ones who whinge, have excruciatingly trivial complaints…one woman blamed all her woes on that fact that her father hadn’t let her do fine art, and instead, had to do graphic design…like, she couldn’t go back to uni at any time????

    • Katie says:

      08:43am | 25/01/11

      Ah yes, it’s Professor Amy Chua’s type of parenting that saw one of my friends commit suicide… and another almost try to. There are certain merits to letting your child know when they’ve cocked something up, and making sure to keep a tight reign, but Chua’s (non-westernised… I’ll have to say it, her ‘Asian’ style) of parenting produces self-loathing, depressed children who are then forced into university and careers that they have no interest. It dosen’t give the child any time to develop their own interests or find out what they’re truely good at.

      I’m all for tough-love, but anyone who supports this woman’s methods is keen on producing depressed drones who’ll never truely leave the nest.

      Reply

    • Chris Tan says:

      06:33am | 26/01/11

      My mother used to say to me “Go ahead and die. Society cannot afford to feed an useless person”.  Facing with that option, I rather chose to be an useful person.
      Yes, she was a Chinese mother.  Now I have realised that she understood the “normal distribution” well - it is better for the society to have a large population of useful people and a very very small portion of useless people.

    • AdamC says:

      08:47am | 25/01/11

      “She is an abusive parent”

      Actually, she’s a classic Chinese parent. Didn’t you go to school with any Chinese/East Asian kids?

      “Western’-style parenting (if there is such a thing)”

      It would seem that there is.

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      12:03pm | 25/01/11

      Well Adam, I’d have to agree with you there.. but only to an extent. Of course, over the years the ‘Asian parenting’ stereotype has become somewhat a legend and the concepts Tory has picked are indeed some of the more known ones. I’ll even add myself, that tough-love is definately on the agenda for my kids. But that being said, most of Professor Chua’s ideologies are very much warped and take extremes to what I can call ‘classic Asian parenting’. Her’s is somewhat of a cruel, sadistic reality which basically transfers all her failings and abuse she recieved herself unto her children.. almost as a complete and pervasive method to find self satisfaction.

      Well.. lets set one thing clear, this whole stereotype is if anything.. withering away. With the growth of western influences, generational changes within our migrant communities and digital media, Asian parenting perse is now almost defunct (besides Asia itself lol).

      p.s My parents (first generation Korean immigrants from the 70s), led a tough life and broke their back to raise me and my 3 siblings. but to this day, they forged a good balance of parenting. And now, im pursuing my dream to be a live performing musician. Gasp! shock ! All smiles for me.

    • AFR says:

      12:28pm | 25/01/11

      Funny thing is, I think you will find its Chinese parents living outside China that are like this. When this article was first in the WSJ, my Chinese friends who moved here as adults said their childhoods were nothing like this. I have read articles about how the 1 child policy is now 30 years old and so single children are now having single children, and a generation of spoilt “Litle Emperors” is being raised. i have noted this about a lot of groups of immigrants. I grew up in a small community near Griffith (ie: Calabrian), and down there, widows still wear black for years after their husbands’ deaths, and they still get together to make pasta and salami - thnigs I doubt many people do back in Italy.

    • Craig says:

      01:39pm | 25/01/11

      When my company is hiring, we often get kids who I suspect have been brought up in the “Chinese style” that Professor Chua advocates.  They all have impeccable CVs and qualifications, but usually fall down at the interview phase because they have very poor social skills and can’t relate.  Work-life balance is very important to my company and someone who has no interests outside work (apart from maybe playing a musical instrument they hate) just won’t fit in.

    • Old Grammarian says:

      07:37pm | 25/01/11

      I went to a private school in Melbourne with a high Asian population and they all played a musical instrument, did their homework and rarely smiled. With facebook bringing old school chums together again it’s pretty sad to see none of the asian kids have made links to old friends.

      Ps. Can I work for you Craig!! : )

    • SuziHB says:

      08:36pm | 25/01/11

      Abuse does not engender respect. I know because my Australian Mother was abusive physically and emotionally. I have been known to call her tyrannical. My Father, thank God, was my soft place to fall and never raised a hand to me.

      My daughter in law is Chinese, born and raised on mainland China. She was beaten by both parents and also mentally abused by them. She does not show her affection outwardly very often. Rarely says “I love you” because she ‘married my son’ he should automatically know she loves him and not need to hear her say it or even show it at times. I love my Daughter in law dearly and she is the best thing to happen to my son and by association, myself. I am happy they do not want to have children because after what she endured growing up, she may also be a Tiger mother. 

      Abuse, both physical and mental, made me very afraid of my Mother because I had to walk on egg shells not knowing when she was going to lash out. What parent does not touch or speak to or acknowledge their child (youngest of 4 girls) for a week as punishment? As a Mother of 2 children, grown well into adulthood, I swore I would never emulate my own Mother with my Mothering and I am proud to say, I didn’t.

    • Matthew says:

      08:56am | 25/01/11

      I tend to agree to parts of this woman and her parenting ways. I’m a teen currently doing Year 12 and a lot of my friends and family have been raised by the “toothless tiger”. I have had a difficult upbringing by Australian standards, parents spilt early, death constantly around me at a young age, bullying throughout most of my life, and now battling of depression as I go into adult hood. But I’m ever so grateful that my life has been the way it has been! I would not change a single thing, because through the tough times I’ve learnt a lot about myself and the ‘real world’, and sure it sucks. But you can make it your own if you know you aren’t hot shit.

      Reply

    • Sir Ronald Bradnam says:

      09:06am | 25/01/11

      One way to rile up the western civilisation middle class is to try to tell them to be better parents and this is what is happening in this situation. Yale law professor Amy Chua has shown what works for her in bringing up her children and the naval gazing namby pambies dont like it her children appear well balanced and happy high achievers certainly not like they need therapy. The western society that has in a sea of welfare bred failure into the mind set of our children by not valuing high achievement such as having to get off you arse and earn your own money and income, career advancement, independence and taking responsibility for yourself and actually succeeding in your chosen feild. For many years we have tried to tell our kids that winning is wrong and it is how you play the game that counts and as long as you are happy then everything else is OK, well my freinds at the risk of sounding out of step this is what has brought western society down and why the asian economies are now taking over and going to shine for the next few decades, they instill in their children to strive and succeed while we are busy hugging ours and telling them that a D+ is good and I am proud of you because you tried your hardest. Congrats to Amy and her family if I was her I would be extremely proud of my achievements.

      Reply

    • AFR says:

      03:24pm | 25/01/11

      Depends on how you define “achievements”. If your kids being able to play the violin, having no friends, and an obviously whipped husband is an “achievement”, then, yeah, she’s done well. If you haven’t read the full WSJ article to get a full idea of this vile woman, I suggest you do.

    • Sir Ronald Bradnam says:

      04:38pm | 25/01/11

      i did, and each to his own, if you watched her family on Sky news three nights ago she gives a great insight to her life and her family and not some hysterical left leaning namby pamby veiw of her written by some tree hugging, everybody wins and is equal and gets a prize in the race of life, commentator.

    • Bully says:

      09:39am | 25/01/11

      ‘Professor’ Chua, wow, you are a classic case of over education in a sheltered environment with limited exposure to the real world. A real academic. You do not abuse children and call it tough love, I don’t care if it is a classic method of whatever culture to raise kids that way, you can raise your kid to have a win at all costs attitude and tell them if they fail they are useless, so when they eventually fail at something later in life, they crash and burn.. I wouldn’t raise a dog like that. You raise a kid the same way you cook a small fish, very gently. You gradually expose them to the real world when the time is right. You teach them to be compassionate but also tough when they need to be. You teach kids how to do things properly and encourage them the to it better than you can, if you are a good teacher your kids will surpass you in whatever you teach them (Provided they are interested in it). You have to encourage kids to learn and to be inquisitive, you have to show them that sometimes they will fail and sometimes they will win.  If someone called my son a coward or pathetic they would get a smack in the mouth, because thats another lesson, stick up for yourself and loved ones. A real problem these days is that parents and kids don’t spend enough time together to have fun and talk, be it due to work or other commitments. They are raised by TV and Electronic entertainment. I agree that a lot of young people have a sense of entitlement and believe they are supreme in every field. But, in my experience, cutting people down makes them resentful and sometimes enforces their superiority complex which makes them less open to learning and constructive criticism. I am glad this ‘Professor’ Chua has no part in raising my little man, she needs to pull her bottom lip over her head and swallow.

      Reply

    • Nick says:

      07:36pm | 25/01/11

      She already has by the sounds of it, and now she’s talking out of her arse.

    • Heather says:

      09:43am | 25/01/11

      And I blame the whole modern attitude for this ludicrous concept that children must all be the same, i.e. mediocre, so much so that they are almost punished for excellence…children are no longer graded, sports scores are often not published etc, in case some poor little snookums feels hard done by…actually, I don’t blame the modern attitude, I blame psychologists, lawyers and left wing loonies.

      Reply

    • Sir Ronald Bradnam says:

      09:57am | 25/01/11

      dont forget the politicians and grey beauracrats either Heather

    • heather says:

      10:35am | 25/01/11

      ...sadly, politicians and bureaucrats are all too often synonymous with, at least, lawyers and left wing loonies…

    • Shama says:

      10:13am | 25/01/11

      Either the moderators are overworked or the Punch doesn’t like being reminded that some of its articles have been all over the Net in the past week and done to death.

      Heather: And I blame the whole modern attitude for this ludicrous concept that children must all be the same,

      That is the whole point of universal literacy and school.

      Reply

    • heather says:

      01:10pm | 25/01/11

      No Shama, it is not the whole point of universal literacy and school. It is the whole point of assuming everyone is equal, and when they are patently NOT equal, forcing everyone to the lowest common denominator, so that no child ever, shock horror, might feel bad about itself. Gee, I’ve always sucked at maths and physics, and others are much better at those subjects than I am…but, so what?

    • Shama says:

      02:01pm | 25/01/11

      Heather why should a child feel bad about itself?

      Schools should not become places where differences are highlighted whether it be wealth, social standing or intelligence. Schools are not for parents to broadcast their child’s grade or trophies. Its a place for all children to get a basic education. Differences exist of course and children are aware of it but they need to understand that you have to live with and co-operate with all kinds of people for society to function, including those who may not be “excellent”.  No point in setting up a child as a dullard because it didn’t pass a test in first grade.

      The Scandinavians are determindedly egalitarian. They seem to be as dumb or as intelligent as the rest of us.

    • JD says:

      03:24pm | 25/01/11

      School is for where children are meant to excell and stand out I am with Heather, grade them, that way the children that aren’t suceeding can pull their socks up, you have to raise the bar for them to aim for. why punish the over acheivers and those of higher intelligence or dilligence to study by only asking for the bare minimum? basic education comes with pre school for crying out loud, high school is where you acheive and go on to Uni. if they feel bad then they will work all that harder for what they want, push them

    • heather says:

      03:52pm | 25/01/11

      Shama, the world is not a fair, kind or gentle place, nor is everyone equal. How boring if it should be so; we’d all be identical Stepford Wives living in little boxes made of ticky tacky. And why is this encouraging excellence, somehow, bad? I know very few people who are not good at *something*; perhaps a child may not excel academically, but excels in sport, or dance or art or craft or a trade or socially….in psychology, the definition of intelligence is multifaceted, and does not just include, for example, verbal or spatial reasoning. My point is, without striving for excellence, and recognition of that striving, how can anyone truly feel good about themselves? If every effort, no matter how mediocre, is accoladed as beautiful and wonderful and perfect, then no wonder we are producing a generation with no resilience, who expect to be made managers and paid top dollar upon leaving school, and who cannot cope with the inevitable let-downs of adult life. You don’t learn anything from permanent good times and happy smiling lovey dovey unreality; you learn from mistakes, and failure…and getting back on to your feet again, and trying harder.

    • Jolanda says:

      10:17am | 25/01/11

      This recipe for child rearing certainly has problems. 

      I might say that whilst I do not agree with what this person says I do believe the following:

      1.  That sleepovers and play dates should be limited and certainly only allowed with certain friends as when children are together and in particular if they are in a home where the parents believe in being the kids ‘friends’ and not parents they get introduced to all sorts of things and it is generally not in the kids best interest. 

      2.  That television, computer games etc should be limited as if you give children free reign first they think that it is their right and then their school marks suffer and we know that for a fact.

      3.  That if you expect your child to be first in every academic subject then you really are setting your child up for failure because only ONE person can be first.  Surely it would be more sensible to have a level and standard that you expect your child to perform at, taking into consideration their intelligence and potential. 

      I do believe kids needs to know what type of behaviour is expected of them and what level of performance is expected of them and they need to know that they will be held to account if they do not perform and that there will be consequences. 

      The attitude of young people today is a direct result of there being no consequences and low standards.  More often than not these standards are being set by adults.

      Education – Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      11:18am | 25/01/11

      Man people care all too much about what other people think of them. It is quite scary. You raise your kids how you want to, but make sure you take responsibility for your own failings as a parent. Also, give credit where credit is due - there are lots of fantastic kids about and they are a credit to themselves and their parents.  My mother never gave a crap about what other parents thought of her and managed to raise three kids that not only love her, but RESPECT her. It is for that reason that I felt bad when I partook in the odd underage drinking session - not that mum would be angry with me, but that she would be disappointed in me if she ever found out. It is that feeling that lead to me doing the usual teenage rebellious stuff - but I never caused drama for my parents because mum regularly sprouted the old “that is not how we raised you” line.

      In terms off pressure though (be it unnecessary or whatever) - it depends on the child. I have always had a rather strong personality (being the youngest, you have to) and my mother clearly didn’t try hard enough to control our opinions, if so it is an epic fail. I was Dux of grade 8 (a joint award with another girl in my class that got the same marks as me) and when I woke up the next morning my mother was on the phone gloating to her friends when I heard her say “yes well maybe if she tried a bit harder next year she will get it on her own”. My 13 year old mind told me that I still wasn’t good enough, so I simply gave up and coasted through highschool with good marks, but I regret letting it worry me. My mother never told me that to her face and I have no idea in what context she said it - but I was stupid to not clear it up at the time.

      Far out, you don’t have to listen to other parents about how to raise your own kids. Do what you think is right and who gives a toss about other people’s petty little judgements. Listen to your child before you listen to someone else’s half baked ideas on parenting, you are the one who has to live with them afterall.

      Reply

    • daniel says:

      11:30am | 25/01/11

      Parents should toughen kids up, but not BE tough.
      If you don’t let your kids live their lives and enjoy their childhoods, who cares if they’re number 1 in all their classes if they are suicidal or hate their life?
      That’s the most pathetic parenting I’ve ever heard.

      Reply

    • Clancy of Sydney says:

      11:32am | 25/01/11

      I think the article has an overabundance of ‘hot air’! What we really need is more good old fashioned discipline and less over-protectiveness.

      Reply

    • Jade says:

      11:59am | 25/01/11

      The only thing I would change about parenting (as a non parent observing todays kids) would be discipline.  Its now bad parenting or child abuse to give your kid a smack on the bottom or yell, hence the reason we have a generation (not gen y bashing as I am also gen y) of rude and selfish kids and teens who have no respect for their parents, authority or the rules.

      Reply

    • Pleasure O'Reilly says:

      01:04pm | 25/01/11

      Discipline is VERY important, boundary setting, and following though when those boundaries are crossed. Absolutely essential.
      Smacking and yelling, are not things that children need to be taught that Mummy or Daddy do when they cannot control their temper, or when they do not get their way.

    • James1 says:

      02:26pm | 25/01/11

      Indeed Pleasure.  Smacking and yelling are signs of a bad parent, because it shows that they can not use more effective methods, or alternatively are too lazy to use more effective methods.  Also, it teaches children that they can solve their problems with hitting and yelling, which IMHO is a large part of the problem with many of the people Jade is referring to in the last sentence.

    • JD says:

      03:36pm | 25/01/11

      oh it does not ladies, some kids can’t be disciplined by soft words and a naughty corner, my young one gets babysat by people with this mentality and when she does something wrong she gets sent to the naughty corner where she then plots her revenge, it’s errie in a 3 year old i tell you. she then comes up with better ways to do what she wants. a light smack on the bottom doesn’t hurt! it’s not about not being able to control our tempers a short smack is a negative reaction doesn’t hurt the child and wakes them up that behaviour like that is not acceptable. I yell as well, not because i have lost my temper or am a lazy parent but if it’s the only way they will hear you then i say go for it.

      children are not interchangeable, what works for one MAY NOT work for another, so if your kids don’t do something after you have spoken to them gently and whatever then good for you, doesn’t work on my kids

    • Pleasure O'Reilly says:

      05:20pm | 25/01/11

      JD, it’s too bad that you believe your 3 yr old can play you like a violin. No three year old is smarter than you, surely.
      Why not think about something other than hitting that will have the negative effect you are after… at three yrs, there are a multitude of things you can use.
      And, by not trying to discipline instantly, consistently and firmly without getting physical or loud, your child believes his transgressions are always bad enough to deserve yelling or a smack. Sad.

    • Jade says:

      06:04pm | 25/01/11

      You can’t reason with a child. I am not talking about just straight up hitting the child, more the 3 strikes and your out… then a light smack on the bottom. They need to know that there are consequence’s for their actions and sitting them down and saying you did a bad thing will get you or them no where. I was smacked when I was a child and tuned out fine as were my friends who now discipline their own kids the same way.

      This is where people are going wrong.  How many of you were smacked as a kid??

    • Mayday says:

      04:15pm | 26/01/11

      The word discipline comes from Diciple ( someone who adheres to the doctrine of another) and that’s were the biblical word disciple comes from.

      Its not the same as punishment, to discipline correctly you need to set the example of the behaviour you want and many parents do Not.

    • heather says:

      01:25pm | 25/01/11

      Or you could use the Onion’s version; i.e.
      # Inform your child that televisions receive all of their power from flawless renditions of Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D; or
      # Only let your children have a pet dog if they can tame the most rabid dog at the pound.

      For more, check out
      http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-parenting-book-sparks-outrage,18858/

      Reply

    • Thommo says:

      01:58pm | 25/01/11

      I think it’s great all our lab technicians and researchers are bred for us by the robot machine factory. It means they’ll be more proficeint at it (until they snap) and we can take all the interesting jobs.

      Reply

    • TR says:

      04:50pm | 25/01/11

      I sometimes wish my parents put more pressure on me when i was younger. I tried my hand at so many things, but if I didn’t get it straight away, win or enjoy myself i opted out and that was it. My parents just wanted me to be happy and make my own choices.

      But I think parents need to push you a little, perhaps not to this extreme, but if a parent sees their child is talented in something, I believe it’s fair game to be a bit harsh and discipline the child in making sure that talent is harnessed.

      Reply

    • john tracey says:

      05:21pm | 25/01/11

      children believe that parents are always absolute disgraces to children as they behave like tigers towards children and other parents.
      parents would not be so toothless if dental health was free in australia and people could afford dentists .
      false teeth are too dear in australia now.
      Thanks to the Howard Government and Mr Howard for your pitiful 1996 federal budget which turned teeth into fossils of the past.
      Shame On you Howard, Shame.You certain put the bite into Australia and its toothless parents!

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      10:14pm | 25/01/11

      I think Ms. Chua’s article really is a panic re-action to western education standards, rather than a theory of learning.
      There was something, however, in the piece which was noticeable : her emphasis was not on the intrinsic worth of a study - that a particular knowledge may be good for the community - but her insistance was that a student might only enjoy a topic because they were only good at it.
      So then for a student of music, their enjoyment of the subject would be dependant on their ability, and not because they might actually love sound.
      Similarly with any other subject.
      There is something she missed, too : for all the doting prodigies who can do so much when they are young, not much is heard of them later in their careers. And it’s not ‘burn-out’ ; it’s something the author left out : the 10,000 hours practice theory, which means that Genius is open to anyone who is physically capable of practice, (at books or instruments) and that only persistence is the necessary element to secure the companionship of Kant, Einstein and Mozart.
      Good luck Ms. Chua.
      You are as persistent and as booring as your kids.

      Reply

    • Becca says:

      07:03am | 26/01/11

      How can you realistically expect your child to be top of every subject? What happens if you have twins-they can’t both be top in everything. What I am concerned about is Effort grades. I expect A for effort. If they are trying their hardest, then what they get is reasonable.

      Reply

    • Bitten says:

      06:41pm | 26/01/11

      Are today’s parents toothless tigers?

      No. They’re just wankers.

      Reply

    • Seano says:

      10:03am | 27/01/11

      Im Modern Parent (my son is 2, plus nephews, nieces 4 - 11) And i am shocked at how soft school is!! My nephew came home the other day and said his inter school soccer match was called off because of rain! Huh? Its a winter sport? If that was my son i would have rang the school and blasted them (i feel i will be doing that alot soon) The media has a lot to answer for too, constant stories of child abduction and abuse when really its much less than in the past, but can i convince an MUMs of this? No, will they lete there fat kids ride there bikes to school? No. Stop scarring mums and teachers start toughening kids up! No soccer in the rain, puh-lease! Also why cant you tackle in footy in primary school any more? What a joke!

      Reply
 
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lucyjk 19 May 13 02:24PM

RT @HeatherSmithAU: Can living in another country change your life for the better? by @lucyjk on @newscomau f. moi http://t.co/E5Ma3kBut2

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penbo 19 May 13 01:02PM

@mooks83 sophisticated response. Think the kids parents saw it differently

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More class from 9's footy show, lampooning a baby that allegedly looks like Sterlo with a pic swiped from Facebook http://t.co/BGoYP6Pn68

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