{"id":5122,"date":"2015-05-27T11:35:14","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T18:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=5122"},"modified":"2015-05-27T11:35:14","modified_gmt":"2015-05-27T18:35:14","slug":"parenthood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/parenthood\/","title":{"rendered":"Parenthood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Phood_S6_DDKA_horz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hello, my name is Ashley, and I am an addicted Netflix binger. I have had this problem since Netflix originated. Over the Memorial Day weekend, my friends and family were out of town, and I was left to my television and Apple TV. Instead of working ahead in school, or readying myself for my upcoming Missions Event at work, or packing for next week\u2019s trip to Russia, I turned on Netflix and found a wonderful new show\u2026Parenthood<\/em>. This show ran for six seasons, just recently having its series finale, but until last Friday, I had never heard of it. Being two seasons in to the drama, I can tell you the show chronicles the lives of the very large, colorful, imperfect Braverman family. Zeek Braverman is the head-strong, Vietnam-vet patriarch, and with his wife, Camille, they have four children \u2013 Adam, Sarah, Julia, and Crosby. Adam is the stereotypical oldest child, full of responsibility, and with wife Kristina, they have a daughter and a son, who eccentrically battles Asperger\u2019s syndrome. Sarah Braverman is a single mother with two kids – the bright but rebellious Amber, and the sullen and sensitive Drew. Next in line is Julia, a type-A attorney, who is married to Mr. Mom Joel, and together they raise child-genius Sydney. Finally, Crosby is the baby of the family, struggling with commitment and coping with the newfound knowledge of his five-year old son, Jabbar. Although each sibling and family has its own share of everyday challenges to grapple with, they still manage to be there for each other in their hours of need. Within two episodes, I was in love with the Braverman family and wished I could be part of their support system.<\/p>\n

What in the world does any of this have to do with Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother<\/em> by Amy Chua? Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother<\/em> is a story of parenthood, albeit from an alternative perspective and theory than I was watching on my television screen. Chua is a mom of two Chinese-Jewish-American daughters. The first daughter, Sophia, is the easy child, naturally falling in to Chua\u2019s authoritative parenting style, but her second daughter, Lulu sends her for a loop. She\u2019s a headstrong firecracker, unwilling to yield any power to her mother. I was reading this book while simultaneously watching Parenthood<\/em>, and while the two, at first glance, appear to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, they, in fact, had much in common:<\/p>\n