On a light note, one of my friends sent me this link to a cute cartoon about the article.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/13/battle-hymn-of-the-tiger-mother-a-cartoonist-responds/I enjoy reading the commentary on this. While there were certainly many sections of the original article that made me wince, I do think there are many truths to the stereotypical Westerner. For example, I do know a lot of "Western parents" who ignore the benefits of focused goal-setting and expect schools to provide any type of academic challenge for their children.
I also liked the follow-up article this weekend by the "Western" parent. While she, too, was tongue-in-cheek, I thought she sounded more balanced in her approach than many I personally know.
It's hard. I don't want my kids to rot their brains on tv and computer games all day so I do encourage a lot of creative time with Legos, imaginary play, writing, etc. Surprisingly, though, I've discovered that there are also benefits to letting them watch a little bit of tv. For my DS6, if he didn't get to enjoy Star Wars Clone Wars cartoons, he wouldn't fit in with any of the boys his age around here who act it out whenever they're together. If I had to choose, I'd much rather they be happy, healthy children with friends than a famous pianist who is socially isolated from peers.
