Singapore’s Tiger Parents Won’t Stop for Covid
A model of child-rearing is being upended as social-distancing rules have kept moms, dads and grandparents away from campuses and activities.
Say goodbye at the door.
Photographer: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images AsiaPacIn 2014, Winston Chiu quit his successful career in private equity to groom his six-year-old daughter for greatness. Now 12, she’s a golf and tennis sensation who has qualified for junior tournaments all over the world. Through the years, Chiu has attended not just every competition, but every practice session, dutifully taking videos for post-mortems with his daughter. Covid-19 has been a “frustrating” interruption, he says.
Whether Chiu is a tiger parent, a helicopter parent or simply a very involved one is almost irrelevant. His experience speaks to something many families are facing – here in Singapore and beyond – as schools and activities open up but restrictions on chaperones remain: the black hole of information between what children tell us and what teachers, coaches and instructors say. No amount of Seesaw updates or Zoom conferences can replicate physical presence. The best solution may not be more communication, but a different playbook entirely.