In “The Last of the Tiger Parents,” Ryan Park ’05 wrote in the New York Times about his decision to step away from “tiger parenting” adopted in traditional Asian families.
“The research shows that children tend to do best, across the board, when parents command loving respect, not fearful obedience — when they are both strict and supportive, directive and kindhearted,” he wrote. “The childhood I devise for my two young daughters will look nothing like mine. They will feel valued and supported. They will know home as a place of joy and fun. They will never wonder whether their father’s love is conditioned on an unblemished report card.”
“I’ve assumed this means my daughters might someday bring home grades or make life choices that my father would have regarded as failures. If so, I embrace the decline.”