I just read the WSJ article. Given my experience in the CA domestic legal arena (don’t know where Chines mom lives), I have a couple of opinions about it.
The “Chinese mom’s” parenting style only works if the other parent is on the same page and the parents have a strong relationship. Even then, it could backfire on the mom if for any reason she and the dad split, even if it was an amicable split. In the article, it sounds like the dad, “Jed,” had a “passive” personality as he did not always agree with her parenting style but gave her free reign over the kids’ upbringing and discipline. Also, their kids are still young. When they are older and the dad disagrees with her openly, they may then only ask the dad for permission to do something and ignore her.
I am not totally against most aspects of the Chinese mom’s parenting style because I think kids are way too “coddled” today. But want to preface that by saying that both parents have to be on the same page and cannot ever waver.
If parents have different parenting styles, the Chinese mom’s style will backfire on her and will not work. If “Jed” ends up having enough of it, all h@ll is going to break loose.
