Think of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother as a well-timed taunt aimed at our own complacent sense of superiority, our belief that America will always come out on top.

Other popular answers include "babies come out of your tummy button", "I found them" and "babies are bought in Tesco at night on the top shelf by mums and dads only."

When I looked out the window again, my mother was standing at the top of the church steps beckoning my father, who was empty-handed now, to come inside.