Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother

[sillysally]

I think the thing with parenting philosophies is that they are all largely a bunch of hooey. Yes, you can start with a general idea of what you want, but so much of it is dependant on the individual child.

I was not a kid that did well be forced into things. Pushed? Sure. Forced? No sir. Everyone in the house would have miserable. I was once told by an aunt that I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I finished my carrots (which I detested), so I sat at the table for hours before they finally folded and sent me to bed (a much better option than carrots, IMHO).

I think WAY too many parents a super permissive and I am NOT a fan of that at all, but there is a happy medium. When I used to guide trails rides every now and then you would have a kid that was scared to ride. There were a few instances where the child (usually 8 or 9 yrs old it seemed) would be in tears pretty much from the start of the ride until the end, and were constantly be scolded, occasionally to the point of belittlement, for their behavior. I never saw the point of that kind of parenting. The kid was humiliated in front of stable staff and their family and were no less afraid at the end of the ride than the beginning.