<p>I think the bottom line for Chinese parenting to work is that you have to start with a competent parent. Same for other parenting styles. A screwball parent, regardless of the style, can screw up kids real quick. I don’t think it’s the style of parenting that matters as much as the parent’s commitment to make things work for the child. You get a high percentage of success stories with the Tiger and Lion parent styles, for example, because those are intentional choices and they involve a good deal of effort and diligence on the part of the parents. Right there you’ve weeded out slack parents. There are no slacker parents or self-absorbed parents going down that path. Other parents who have a knack for parenting might employ other styles and approaches just as conscientiously and intentionally and I bet they do okay. I think it’s the parent’s make-up and innate ability and willingness to work at it that’s the key. They’re the parents likely to choose the style that best suits who they are. And the outcomes are more attributable to them than they are attributable to a particular style. The problem with my view is that I could never sell one book touting it. My view has 0.08 utility to other parents. (The 0.08 comes from the fact that there’s some value, I think, to parents understanding that their instincts can serve them well and that they don’t need to be slaves to a manual or a paradigm that worked well for another, possibly differently-wired parent.)</p>