Tiger Mom

Have you ever read the Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mom? It's an interesting read and one that gets you thinking about America's parenting style verses that of the Chinese. There are many things in the book that I agree with along with some things I don't but overall I believe it's a wonderful book about a sacrificing mother who expected only the best from her children, the tiger mom. She basically has rules that she goes by in raising her children (2 girls) and some of those rules includes playing either the piano or violin, always practicing more than the required amount, schoolwork always comes first, the only activities your child should be permitted to do are those in which they can eventually win a medal and the medal must be gold (don't really agree with this one), if your child ever disagrees with a teacher or coach, you must always take the side of the teacher or coach, and you must never compliment your children in public. Yes, she is very strict, yes she is very extreme but I will tell you that her daughters turned out just fine, in fact I follow Sophia with her own blog, she is in her freshman year at Harvard. Both girls are extremely talented and academically attuned. So....what am I getting at? Well, the tiger mom's two girls are named Sophia and Lulu. Sophia listened and obeyed to every word that came out of her mother's mouth. She was very self-discliplined and motivated. Then came Lulu.....she was of a different world and could NOT be broken. She was stubborn and strong-willed and eventually it was Lulu that broke the tiger mom. Broke meaning, Lulu got to do what she wanted, like play tennis (even though she was not the best at it) and give up some of her time playing the violin to spend time with friends. After many bouts of fighting and screaming since Lulu was 3 years old, the tiger mom knew that she was not to be broken.

Here's my Lulu....

Allie-Ann is one strong-willed girl, she gets it honest, but there are days that I just want to pull my hair out dealing with her. She's tough, smart and wickedly good at already knowing how to push my buttons. If I tell her to jump, she will crawl, it's a battle each day and she's only 3. So reading the Battle Hymn made me think of Allie-Ann and Lulu in the same light. I often tell Kyle, there's my Lulu. I know I won't be as strict on her as the tiger mom....maybe even more, ha, but I definitely will probably lose in the end too.