Originally Posted by Dude
Originally Posted by Bostonian
My inclinations are more in the Tiger Mom direction, my wife even more so. But even before reading this article I had musings along the lines above. To what extent should one push a child in a direction that seems practical?

To me, the only right answer to this question is: none.

- What seems practical today may quickly become impractical.
- It's ultimately their lives to lead.
- Your child might be headed on a path that is exceptionally difficult to succeed on, but remember, we're talking about exceptional children.

I look upon my mission as providing my kid with a rich and diverse skill set, which increases her options. So if she decides to go the rock star route and fails, she can always fall back on the 9-to-5 grind in a more "practical" field.

I have given up "Tiger Mom" in favor of what I want to call "Tiger Cub". So this would be me working just as hard but, instead of pushing Butter where I want her to go, I am pushing her where SHE says she wants to go. DH and myself both come from homes where we feel we didn't get the kind of nurturing we should have. We both had talent search letters, but weren't allowed to go...we have decided that our efforts will best pay off if we let her reach as high as she can and be there to support her, should she fall...

But, as in Dude's rock star example...there are actuall TONS of jobs in the music industry, right? For each mega star, there are probably at least 100+ people involved in the production of a CD or music video. We have a friend who is a sound engineer for big names like Karly Simon and Melissa Etheridge. He might not be a rock star, but he is supremely happy and has a wonderful life and wonderful family. If my kid wants to reach for rock star, then I am going to say go for it and not tell her about the "other" music jobs until she comes asking wink

I get excited when the library lets me know my books are ready for pickup...