Psychology

The term “Tiger Mom” roared into our vocabulary in 2011 with Amy Chua’s memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. It describes a strict, demanding parenting style focused on achieving high levels of academic and extracurricular excellence. This approach is often associated with, but not limited to, parents of East Asian heritage, and it has sparked a global debate about the best way to raise successful children. But after more than a decade of discussion and research, what have we learned? Is the Tiger Mom approach the key to raising high-achieving children, or does it do more harm than good? ...

We are a culture obsessed with goals. In a world of hyper-parenting and achievement culture, we push our children to set SMART goals, aim for the stars, and never give up. But what if this approach is not only ineffective for children, but also actively harmful? This article argues that our modern obsession with achievement-oriented goal-setting is broken, and offers a more effective, science-backed approach for raising resilient, happy, and intrinsically motivated kids. ...