1.
tough love; trial-by-fire upbringing
A child-rearing approach of deliberately exposing a child to hardship to make them stronger. The image comes from the legend that a lion pushes its cub off a cliff and raises only the one that climbs back up.
獅子の子落としだ。
It's tough love, like a lion pushing its cub off a cliff.
父は子落としのつもりで私を遠くの学校に行かせた。
My father sent me to a distant school as a kind of tough love.
獅子の子落としのような厳しい訓練を乗り越えてこそ、本物の力が身につく。
Only by overcoming a lion-style tough-love training does one acquire real strength.
Comes from the saying 獅子は我が子を千尋の谷に落とす — "the lion drops its cub into a deep valley." Usually appears in the longer form 獅子の子落とし; the short form 子落とし is less common.
USAGE:
Describes a deliberately strict or harsh choice made out of belief that hardship strengthens the child. Carries a serious, sometimes admiring tone — not a casual term for ordinary discipline.
SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:
- 可愛い子には旅をさせよ: send the cherished child on a journey — similar moral, gentler imagery
- スパルタ教育: Spartan upbringing — modern term for harsh training