Tiger? There is No Tiger Here.

Tiger? There is No Tiger Here.

tigerI was called a Tiger Mom by another mother the other day and had to look it up. Here is what the all-seeing oracle, Google, said:

“A mother who is overly strict with her child in order to foster an academically competitive spirit. This form of upbringing is intended to direct a child towards financially successful careers at the potential risk of feeling emotionally unfulfilled and/or socially inept.”

What the What?!

I have been called many things in my life but overly strict has never been one of them. I am the ‘oh shit, I should get the kids to pick up after themselves’ or the ‘sure we can have ice cream with breakfast, it is sort of like milk right?’ kind of mom.

I think as mothers we are sometimes too quick to judge. We all just have to slow the F down sometimes and realize everyone is making decisions that impact their children and they don’t know what they are doing. I don’t know about yours, but my kids did not come with an owner’s manuals. That stupid book I bought when I was huge and disillusioned, offered me nothing but fill for the hospital book sale.

Just when I think I have got this mothering thing down to a science, BAM, I am hit with a new challenge. A call from the school, a crying teenager, a test that didn’t turn out well, a zit, the flu shots followed by an ear infection. How was your week? That was the same week that we started a new lesson, had to start physio, had to deal with report-card drama and we filled out high school applications and had a screaming match about seeing the floor in your bedroom being a requirement. All in a day’s work.

I am planning on writing a parenting book of my own. It will be called ‘How to Really Parent. No kidding this time.’.

Chapter 1: Love.

Chapter 2: Thanks for buying this book, now throw it away ‘cuz there are no other answers.

I am planning on writing another book on how to be a parent outside of your house titled ‘Don’t be an asshole, they are just getting by too’. Call the New York Times now.

So stick me with your label if you must. Although I would prefer ‘She’s Not Really Screwing it up That Much Mom’. That seems more my style. In return, I label you ‘Doing the Best She Can Mom’, because I know you are. Roar.


Comments

  1. Fantastic post. I agree people are quick to label. I will be first in line to buy your new books they sound like my cup of tea. Thanks for sharing.

  2. love it!!!

  3. I am a big fan of any book that starts with “Don’t Be an Asshole…” and I am a slacker mom too – but my kids seem reasonably happy and well adjusted and I get to stay in my pajamas all day – it’s a win win

  4. Being a mom is never easy – you worry from before they are born to the day you die. The worst (for me anyway) is when something happens that throws your kid into a pit of despair – and there is nothing you can do to fix it. You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to call one of my kid’s potential bosses, or crappy bosses, or unreasonable academic advisors – just to let them know that they are assholes and my kid is a wonderful young man and they are idiots that they won’t take the time to get to know him, give him a chance, or cut him a break. But that is just me – I may be biased.

  5. Here here lady!! Tiger Mum, tsk, I think I’d feel pretty insulted!! x

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