Discussion: who is it all about ?

I think this says it all
"academic achievement reflects successful parenting"

It's pretty horrendous isn't it? I love how her kids have to be top of the class at everything "except gym and drama."

The piece about co-ercion, I think you could get pulled up under the Geneva convention for some of those tactics

There's an extract on another site about when her daughter gives her a homemade birthday card, but she refuses to accept it because it's substandard, and then goes on about the hundreds of dollars she spends on their birthdays (for their lack of friends?), so they should put the effort in for Mummy.

Eurgh.

"What Chinese parents understand is nothing is fun until you're good at it." clearly I am working with a different definition of fun. or good. or chocolate milk.

I heard about this on the radio, and now after reading the article I almost feel like it can't possibly be serious. It reads almost like perfect parody.

Unfortunately, I have known a few parents like this, so I'm probably wrong.

I think from reading lots of blogs this afternoon, she has been misrepresented somewhat in this article and the guardian one from back home. However, none of the things she actually did to her kids are false - I think it's more that she may be regretting some of the extremism later.

You know who is her kids' math tutor, right?

The article reminds me of the stereotype, racist meme "High Expectations Asian Father." The meme, however, is the product of a bunch of teenagers on the internet, mocking the supposed culture. The events in the article are actually happening.

Boris, that's very frightening but full of opportunities.

Got them to come orienteering yet? I think JWOC is an ideal goal-directed opportunity for children to excel in orienteering, a sport that enhances the spatial reasoning and visualization abilities of its participants. So really JWOC is like a math olympiad and this mother should be wildly enthusiastic about sending her children there as part of a Boris-chaperoned team.

NO WAY!

Becks, you have your in, now all you need is some vodka.

This has been in my head all day.
(especially when I ran past a shop, which has closed down and they had covered the windows in with sheets from the Sunday Times and her self satisfied / evil / ruthless mug was staring out at me )

I think if you look at it none of it is really about her kids - its all about her
I wouldn't be surprised if she was raised the same way - so had no life of her own as a kid, no control, no self determination.
So now she visits the same thing on her kids as a way of trying to express some control - living and achieving through them, having been denied the cjhance to do what she wanted as a kid.

I think as Omni-Boris has just proved, the thing that pisses me off the most is the identifiability of her kids in all this. Real names, real pictures - they're still kids for crying out loud. At least give them a bit of distance before exposing them to all this.

Which backs up what Kitch is saying absolutely.

I'm really glad they get to work with people like Boris and Kat. That makes me a bit easier about it.

Wait, they have a math tutor? Is this because simply yelling at your kids and punishing them if they don't get A's isn't enough to make it so? No wayz.

I'm sure a lot fall by the wayside.

Anybody read The Joy Luck Club? I recommend it.

I agree with Becks - if this was an education study, no way would they be allowed to publish personal information like that.

They haven't even mentioned whether the kids have turned out successful or not, which is rather dependent on how you judge success, I should imagine in her eyes being happy and fulfilled does not come into it.

From what I can tell, they're too young to really judge that, which is why this is so wrong!