HOMELANDANDHOUSEHOLD A Comparison of Asian and Asian American Households By Shota Konno
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No sleepovers, no television, no video games. These are three familiar rules that come from a long list associated with Asian parenting, known as tiger parenting. Many people have attributed this style of parenting to Asian
households because of the stereotypes and inaccurate representation of Asians and Asian Americans. This misconception causes a problem because the upbringing of Asian and Asian American children isn’t monolithic; not all parents are tiger parents, and many cultures and nationalities have different customs that differ from the perceptions of outsiders. Asian and Asian American households, while distinct, share the similarity that not all households practice tiger parenting. Weiqing Han grew up in one such household. Weiqing goes by Angel, a name given to her by her English teacher in China. In eighth grade, she immigrated to the United States with her mother and younger brother. Angel is a third-year computer science student at the University of Florida, and she is the president of the Chinese American Student Association. She embraces the idea that parents should not force their children to participate in extracurricular activities.
Like Angel, not all Asian and Asian American children experience tiger parenting. The concept paints a monolithic image of Asian and Asian American upbringings that fails to represent different ethnicities, cultures, and experiences. Different parents have different ways of parenting, but they all share the goal of raising their children as best they can. “People think they have all these plans for you, and you have to listen,” Han said. Remembering how she and her brother learned music, she agreed with how her parents raised her.
“There are different expectations that are held with culture, education, way of living, etc.” 20 20 || FALL FALL 2021 2021
models/ Angel Han & Cindy Ngo
Angel’s upbringing defies the Asian tiger parenting stereotype. In the book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” author Amy Chua tells the story of raising her daughters Sophia and Louisa as a Chinese mother and molding them into successful children through strict household rules. One such rule was not to play any instruments other than the violin and piano, which reflects the common stereotype that all Asian children play the violin or the piano (or both).
design by/ Mercy Tsay
“Many Asian households emphasize academics, [and Asian children] learn piano, learn violin, and do a sport [because their parents] always say it’s good for you. My mom told my teacher not to force me. I would practice during the lesson and learn the new piece at the end. The rest of the kids had to go home and practice before lessons,” Han said.
photos by/ Maria Vanderbilt
hildren learning an instrument at a young age, parents buying the best substitute ingredients for traditional recipes, attending distant schools to learn a language, and many other activities encapsulate the Asian American experience. Asian American households include both the culture and interactions between family members residing under the same roof. They possess characteristics that distinguish them from not only households of other ethnicities but Asian households as well. Although Asian American households remain distinct from Asian households, they do share similarities, particularly when it comes to parenting.
