Should parents push their child to excel?

HazelNutCoffee (China)

Having been one of those kids who grew up under such parents, I'm ambivalent toward the whole thing. On one hand, I feel my parents definitely helped me to push myself harder and that's what got me where I am today. Not that I've done anything earth-shattering or newsworthy in my life (yet!) but I received (and am still receiving) an education that I feel I can be proud of. On the other hand, I am still haunted by that fear of disappointing my parents. To them, doing well was a given and falling below that line was unacceptable. They rarely praised me when I did well, but always scolded me when I slipped.