TV stars stunned by ‘harsh’ Aussie Tiger parents

Two self-confessed Aussie “Tiger parents” have caused a scene on national TV after their comments about their own “brave” children were aired.

One mum and dad’s style of raising their children has caused other parents on 9’s Parental Guidance to declare that their families “wouldn’t cope” if they implemented the same system in their households.

Tonight’s episode largely focused on “Tiger parents” Kevin and Debbie — who describe their method as “very strict” and involves always telling their two children that they “just want to see that you’re trying your best”.

“I like my kids to experience the reward that comes after hard work,” Kevin said in a video explainer.

But a challenge where each of this week’s “front row” parents’ kids had to figure out a way to earn $20 within two hours — and saw Kevin and Debbie’s kids Leo and Mimi busking on a street corner — led to raised eyebrows over Debbie’s “harsh” reaction and overall method.

“Tiger” parents Kevin and Debbie. Picture: Channel 9

Their kids Mimi and Leo busked as part of one challenge, but Debbie wasn’t pleased with the quality of their performance. Picture: Channel 9

While “attachment” parent Lara said that it was “so brave” of Leo and Mimi to “put themselves out on the street and play with the talent they have”, Debbie focused on her children not playing their instruments well.

“It wasn’t the first time that our kids did that — like Leo honestly earned a lot of money from busking, but he got that money not because he played so well but because he was little with a big guitar. Most of the people thought he was really cute,” she told the room.

“So we were worried that he got the wrong idea about earning money. This time it was harsh, but then I think it was a good experience.”

“Disciplined” parent Sioux said her boys “would not cope” with Debbie and Kevin’s style. Picture: Channel 9

“Free range” mum Penny was also shocked by their approach. Picture: Channel 9

Series co-host and Australian parenting expert, Dr Justin Coulson, pointed out to Debbie that “there was still some very strong negative feedback towards the end”.

“You really wanted them to know how they played and you made sure that they understood that message,” he added.

“They wouldn’t feel sad about me saying that — because that’s what we do every day,” Debbie responded.

“We needed to tell them that, ‘I know you’re feeling awkward, but you didn’t really concentrate. You didn’t play well.’”

“Routine” parents Brett and Tony. Picture: Channel 9

While Kevin said that both Leo and Mimi are “really mature” in terms of receiving criticism from their mum, “helicopter” parent Rachel said that her own daughters wouldn’t have the same reaction.

“I can see that in our situation, our girls probably would be quite deflated, because they just wouldn’t be used to it — because that’s not what we do,” she said.

“We ask them, ‘how do you think it went, how did it feel’, because at the end of the day, their fulfilment has to be within themselves, not for us.”

Footage also showed the amount of time Leo and Mimi dedicate to practising their instruments — with Debbie saying she had quit her job to help support her children’s achievements.

“Disciplined” parent Sioux said that our two sons “would not cope” if she did the same.

“It would be beyond our disciplined approach,” she told the room.

“I guess it’s also that we don’t want to burn our kids out. Everyone’s different, but I think our boys would burn out if we did three hours a day of something,” her husband Rob added.

“I think when it stops becoming fun, that’s when you need to reassess what you’re doing,” Sioux said.

Donna spoke of her own experience being brought up by “tiger parents”. Picture: Channel 9

Asked by co-host Ally Langdon whether she worried if her children were scared of disappointing her, Debbie said “they’re not”, adding with a laugh, “because they still disappoint me”.

“It’s very cultural, the whole tiger parent thing,” “French nouveau” mum Donna told the room.

“I come from tiger parents — I love my parents to death, but a lot of tiger parenting is getting to a particular goal. I was made to do piano — I hated it. I got a law degree, became qualified as a solicitor — I don’t actually practice. Because the victory actually isn’t yours in the end.”

Dr Coulson said it was “such a challenging thing to get this balance right”.

“It’s really important that we’re mindful of our feedback, and what seems to work best is if we say to our children, why don’t you reflect and tell me how that went for you, and then we can dissect it,” he suggested.

Parental Guidance airs on Channel 9 at 7.30pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Originally published as TV stars stunned by ‘harsh’ Aussie Tiger parents