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Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother- Amy Chua: 'Chinese Parents Rule'
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by NowPublic Staff | January 11, 2011 at 11:59 am
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Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother By Amy Chua | Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior
A new book, "Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother," by Yale Professor, Amy Chua, is causing a stir. Combine the book, with a recent Wall Street Journal called Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, and Amy Chua's take on Chinese parenting is igniting debate and hand wringing among parents of all strips.
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Amy Chua, is the daughter of Chinese immigrants from the Philippines and is now a married Yale Law professor. Amy Chua says she was raised in a very strict environment, where nothing but excellence was accepted (except in gym).
Now, Amy Chua, chronicles in Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother how she used her parents approach with her own children.
Though generous with family fun and affection, she denied her daughters, Sophia and Louisa (Lulu), experiences that are important to many young Americans: no TV, no pets, no computer games, no sleepovers, no play dates, no grades under A, no parts in school plays, no complaints about not having parts in school plays, no choice of extracurricular activities, nothing less than top places in any school class except gym and drama, no musical instruments except piano or violin.
Amy Chua admits many parents may consider her parenting approach overly harsh, perhaps borderline abusive but she says it produces results and in the long run successful children.
The children of Amy Chua have their own perspective when their mother approached them for comments about Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother.
The wise girls are wary about getting roped in. "I'm sure it's all about you anyway," Lulu says. As they hunker down to criticize, and make her revise, revise, revise, Sophia, now 17, issues a warning well worth keeping in mind if, or when, the mommy wars erupt over Chua's provocative portrait. "It's not possible for you to tell the complete truth," Sophia tells her mother. "You've left out so many facts. But that means no one can really understand." Let's not forget that it's only how the girls themselves understand their mother's methods that really counts in the end.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 12:44 on January 11th, 2011
I am appalled at the parenting that Amy is trying to portrayed as Asian.I am an Asian girl, Chinese origin. My mother is very old fashioned, illiterate and yet she never used those kind of parenting. I am thankful.I don't disagree that you need to provide some structure and guidance but that is not the same as constant criticism and archiac rules which is not helpful to child's self- esteem.
at 12:14 on January 13th, 2011
I'm also appalled at such parenting recommendations. Although there is a point to her strict parenting rules, I do think that what she considers to be 'traditional Chinese' parents has been distorted, taken out of context and may only represent a fraction of what Chinese parenting practices. Some logistical issue I have are: if you are so strict on excellence, should the child not also exceed in gym and drama as well? If you assume your child to be strong and can do anything that they want, should they not also push and develop themselves in athletics and art? It is a double standard. You may likely produce children that overweight, or have limited creative capacity. I'm Asian decent myself and I can objectively say, no wonder some Chinese people have no personalities or artistic expression. Perhaps this drive is present in one form or another in the Chinese community. This may explain why Chinese people are usually hard working and successful compared to other, but they are often less happy and have very limited creative/artistic/social skills. If this legitimately is a 'Chinese' way of raising children and not just the voice of one privileged and eccentric family, then no, the Chinese parenting is NOT superior at all. The method may have its merits, but there are definitely some significant weaknesses that cannot be ignored.
at 16:47 on January 17th, 2011
The story of the tiger chinese mother is not new. We see them all around. The tiger mother is not happy when the children are not perfect. PUSH PUSH is the battle cry and there are many sad endings to similar stories. I don't agree with complacency and indulgence, but her parenting method is an extreme of perfectionism. Balance is the key. There are many adults today that are undergoing therapy because of overbearing parents. Her book is an example of what not to do.