In the News
Sociology in the News: Say goodbye to the 'tiger mom'?
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26th September 2022
Are our children's passions their passions, or just ones we think they should have as we try to invest in their human capital? It seems so - and we are beginning to realise - so is it time for the 'tiger moms' to give in and embrace 'jellyfish parenting'?
This article really resonated with me - my own daughter has just started high school and over the last decade I have spent countless hours taking her to and from extra-curricular activities - some which she loved (Brownies, horse riding, Kuk Sool Wan, Hama bead club) and some she hated (swimming, gymnastics, after-school sports). Now she is in Year 7, this has stopped - extra-curricular activities now generally don't involve the taxi of mum and dad service, and to be honest don't seem quite so important - she is 11, surely she has enough human capital now? Although if left to her own devices her extra-curricular activities would be 100% Minecraft based.
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This article looks at the idea of the 'tiger mom' and the intense programme of clubs and activities that parents often think they have to provide for their children - parting with hard earned cash, signing up months in advance and clocking up countless hours sitting on the poolside or in a car park - often juggling this between 2 or 3 children. It looks at the idea of children gaining competitive skills but also how the whole industry of child activities is based around competitive parenting - how once you are told your child has a bit of ability in whatever the activity may be you are suddenly compelling to signing up for extra and longer sessions, obviously at a much greater cost, and then there comes the expense of taking part in actual competitions. My own niece is a really talented gymnast however my sister-in-law has to take her to 8 hours of training a week, and countless competitions up and down the country. My nephew is an incredible footballer - my brother-in-law volunteered to coach the team in order to spend more time with him, once it was suggested that he needed to train several times a week! In contrast, my other nieces and nephews sign up for things and quit all the time.
However we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis - so cuts have to be made. For many families it is scaling back on these activities - often at the relief of kids, and actually parents when it comes to all that gained time. So quitting is coming back into fashion - in preparation for high school, my daughter and I started doing this about a couple of years ago: 'Mummy, do I have to keep doing gymnastics, I don't really like it'; Me: 'Hallelujah', said as I was skipping with glee across the car park!
So let's look at the idea of 'jellyfish parenting' - boneless and endless flexible. Sounds great!
Anyway, if you have spare few minutes have a read of the whole article - it is really useful to education - https://www.theguardian.com/co...
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