"Tiger Parenting" is a term coined by author Amy Chua (amychua.com) in her book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" to describe how she was brought up in a strict manner by her mother, how she benefited from that kind of parenting, and how she applied the same kind of parenting style on her two daughters.
As defined at American Psychological Association (http://www.apadivisions.org/), tiger parenting is a kind of strict parenting that involves both negative and positive parenting. Tiger parents impose strict rules on the day to day habits of a child and expect excellent (not just good) academic achievement. Not only that, tiger parents also resort to shaming when their children do not meet their expectations. However, tiger parents are also warm and supportive in all ways that can help the child to succeed.
Tiger parents are most of the time tiger mothers, who are themselves brought up in a strict manner by their parents. They feel they have benefited from that style of parenting, so they impose the same style of parenting onto their own children.
There are pros and cons using tiger parenting style. The strictness instill discipline in children from a young age. Parents can also drive home the message that one needs to work and study hard in order to have any achievement in life. Such parents also groom children from a young age which their children may very likely be grateful when they have grown up due to the fact that some disciplines such as art, music and dance require practice from a young age.
However, as Chinese like to have 'face', their children's achievements are their score cards to boast to other relatives and friends. Therefore, Chinese parents are very anxious to see that their children are smarter and better than every other child. Due to their anxiety, tiger mothers resort to yelling, slapping, shaming, blaming, and comparison to "encourage" their children to buck up. Depending on the temperament of the children, some can take it while some get discouraged constantly and may lose self-esteem.
In generally, extreme positive parenting or extreme negative parenting is rare. Most parents adopt a parenting style that is in between. The question of what is the right amount of positive parenting and negative parenting to have must depend on the individual child and that is something that you, the parents, know the best. Try different ratios until you find the most supportive one to the development of your child.
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More Parenting Websites:
American Psychological Association's Article on Tiger Parenting
http://www.apadivisions.org/division-7/publications/newsletters/developmental/2013/07/tiger-parenting.aspx
Stanford News: 'Tiger moms' vs. Western-style mothers? Stanford researchers find different but equally effective styles
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/may/asian-european-moms-052014.html
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