Tiger Mom

A while back, I had a few friends tell me that I was a "tiger mom".  At that time, I had no idea what they meant.  I assumed it was somewhere along the lines of being a "cougar".  Apparently not.  :)

So....a tiger mom.  I have to wonder if this is a good or bad thing.  I have lots of opinions on what kind of mother I want to be.  Lots.  Yes, you can feel sorry for my kids now.  I will reinforce the opinion, however, that this is the kind of mother I want to be.  NOT, I repeat, NOT what I think everyone else should be.  They're your kids.  Do what you want with them.  Just remember, I'm going to do what I want with mine.

This has become very clear to me as my kids get older that as far as moms go, I'm not nice.  I would say that my style of parenting is more "I'm going to make sure you are prepared for life outside my home" versus the "I really wish you would never grow up."  We enjoy our sons, but we have a job to do.  And trust me, it IS a job.  One that I take a lot of pride in.  But my title is "Mom", not "Friend".

For instance, an allowance?  My sons have all brought this up.  Once.  I looked at them, and said, "Uh, no."  That was the end of the discussion.  lol.  But we have talked about things in relation to this over and over again.  Our children do lots of things around the house, because they live here.  I don't get paid to do the dishes, Kevin doesn't get paid to mow.  They won't either.  It's called being a part of this family.  Secondly, having money, in my opinion, is not a right.  It's earned.  At a job.  I refuse to let my sons believe they should get money just because they live and breathe.  Not happening.  See, feel sorry for them yet?

 Also, my children are required to get straight A's.  They are extremely intelligent, and fully capable.  If they are struggling in a class, they have to inform us immediately, and they have to work especially hard to bring it up to snuff, or electronic devices are banned until said grade is an A.  They know the expectation, and they rise up to meet it.  And, no, they don't get money for their grades.  They get a special date, of their choosing, with us.  And hugs.  Lots of hugs.

Thirdly, our sons don't have cell phones.  And they won't until they get jobs and pay for them themselves.  It's a great way to teach responsibility and develop a credit rating.  I know.  I get the response of, "I like to know where my kids are at."  Newsflash, I haven't lost one yet.

 So, a tiger mom I may be.  But I plan on having kids fully prepared for the outside world, and at this rate, they are probably going to be running and screaming from our home to greet it with open arms.  :)