Anxieties of Parenthood: Cultural Resources for Childrearing in China and Taiwan

Session Submission Type: Organized Panel

Abstract

How should one be a good parent? Many Chinese parents want their children to have an education that will prepare them to compete in a global economy, to navigate successfully different social environments, and to make moral decisions in a complex world. Childrearing in a changing society means that parents themselves often engage in self-improvement and self-education so that they can better support their children. This interdisciplinary panel looks at the diverse cultural resources drawn on in the process of learning to be a good parent, and the dynamic connections between relational ethics and individualistic aspirations in childrearing. Confucian and Buddhist traditions offer models for self-cultivation, moral frameworks, and spiritual guides. In turn, these sources are in dialogue with a variety of other materials available to parents, ranging from educational guides to new age psychology to TV dramas depicting family life. Pritzker’s paper address the use of inner child work, in which parents take on psychospiritual development in the hope of becoming better parents. In her paper, Heller looks at the advice incorporated in children’s picture books, and how being a Buddhist parent is positioned within the marketplace of Taiwanese childrearing books. Kuan’s paper problematizes the term “tiger mom” by considering the moral conflict mothers experience between being a “good parent” on the one hand and being a good daughter-in-law on the other, a conflict well captured by the TV series “Tiger Mom.” All three papers engage both the practical side of parenting and the emotional work it entails.

Area of Study

• China and Inner Asia

Session Organizer

• Natasha Heller, University of California, Los Angeles

Chair

• Sonya Pritzker, University of Alabama

Individual Presentations

• Parenting through Picture Books: Buddhist Approaches to Education in Contemporary Taiwan - Natasha Heller, University of California, Los Angeles

• Why “Tiger Mom” is a Terrible Term - Teresa Kuan, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Parenting Inner and Outer Children in Contemporary Chinese Psychospiritual Salons - Sonya Pritzker, University of Alabama

Discussant

• Yunxiang Yan, University of California, Los Angeles