Move over, Tiger Mothers, there's a new parental authority figure who offers a different idea of child-rearing than chaining your kids to the piano. Meet Alan Paul, who called himself Panda Dad:
During our first weeks in Beijing, we attended a talent show at our children’s British school and watched Chinese students ascend the stage and play Chopin etudes and Beethoven symphonies, while their Western counterparts ambled up and proudly played the ABCs under their flapping arms. It was enough to make anyone pause and ponder the way we are raising our kids.
But time in China also taught me that while some here view a Chinese education as the gold standard, many there are questioning the system, noting that it stifles creativity and innovation, two things the nation sorely needs. Further, having seen it in action, I have a strong aversion to hard-driving “Tiger” parenting, certain that is not a superior method if your goals are my goals: to raise independent, competent, confident adults.
Call me the Panda Dad; I am happy to parent with cuddliness, but not afraid to show some claw.
Link (Photo: George Lange)
Previously on Neatorama: Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
I'm with you panda dad - love your kids but use discipline when and where required.
Ian