Disturbing New Parenting Trends

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Disturbing New Parenting Trends You Should Know About

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Joanne Van Zuidam on Mar 3, 2011 at 2:26PM

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a Joanne Van Zuidam on Mar 2, 2011 at 2:45PM

There’s plenty to debate when it comes to parenting: breast vs. bottle, whether to bank cord blood, what to name baby. But lately, a rash of disturbing parenting trends are popping up and they’re aren’t just controversial, they’re downright dangerous. Here are the worst offenders.

The Year of the Tiger Mom
Who didn’t hear the collective OMG! (or WTF?) from moms everywhere after reading that Amy Chua called her 7-year old daughter “garbage”? She revealed this and other Eastern parenting pointers in her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Moms -- and promptly started a national debate about what constitutes good parenting and whether Americans coddle their children. So is Chua onto something? Well, possibly.

“One of the greatest gifts we can give a child is a strong inner belief of who she is—and that belief comes from what you put into her,” says Michele Borba, Ph.D., and parenting contributor to the Today Show. But Borba doesn’t believe in praise just for the heck of it. "Chua is right on that one,” she says. “Praise should be earned. You’re not saying it to be nice. You’re helping the child find a guided belief of who she is so when the going gets rough, she can bounce back and say, ‘I’m a capable, worthwhile human being.’ Not, 'I'm garbage.'" Bottom line: It’s okay to reserve your praise for times when it's sincere, but calling your kid “garbage” or demanding perfection from them -- like Chua does -- is going way too far.