When I read Amy Chua's piece, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” I feel the conflict of two different parenting styles illuminated in my life. Although I grew up under what Chua describes as “Western parenting,” I recall there were many Chinese moments in my house. My mother was not always sympathetic to my desires or complaints. The struggle not to repeat the neglectful behavior of her own parents governed the style of parenting she used on me. While my mother did not stress academic success as a Chinese mother would, sometimes she did shame me and override my desires. According to Chua, Chinese parents are chiefly concerned with success in the classroom. If a child brings home a B (she brings attention to the fact this “would never happen” to a Chinese child) it results in a “screaming, hair-tearing explosion” and the parents spend hours rectifying the perceived failure with “dozens of practice tests.” The idea is that Chinese parents believe their children can, and should be, “the best” in what they do. In …show more content…
However, while a Chinese child's punishment might be considered actionable in this case, my mother was admittedly less severe. Punishment usually involved cutting my access to video games, or being yelled at inconsistently for an hour as she thought of new reasons to complain about my behavior. Besides that, grounding a child was an alien concept in our house. Although my mother did shame me and call me names in anger or frustration, she would quickly resume her normal friendly attitude towards me as if nothing had happened. She would regret her actions and expect me to forget the things she said, but the damage had been done. The only behavior her shaming tactics nurtured was resentment. After a while, I stopped opening up to my mother and to this day, I still avoid telling her intimate details about my life because I do not always appreciate her type of
In the writing of, America’s Top Parent, Elizabeth Kolbert outlines the parenting strategies of different mothers. Most notably, she talks about the “Chinese Mother,” which does not technically mean this individual must be of Chinese descent. Throughout the essay, Kolbert talks about another essay, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The author of that essay, Amy Chua, believes in a binary world. Meaning that there are two kinds of mothers, “Chinese Mothers”, and “Western” mothers. Chinese mothers believe in extreme parenting, whereas Western mothers “think they are being strict when they insist that their children practice their instruments for half an hour a day” (Kolbert). On the other hand, Chinese mothers have much more specific rules
In “Adapted from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” author Amy Chua argues that, instead of constantly praising a child for the slightest success, parents should only expect perfection from their children and nothing less. She explains that Western parents are not as strict on their children as Chinese parents are. That Western parents don’t believe in stressing educational success and that education should be something fun. In contrast, Chinese parents believe that academic success is very important and to get good at something it takes practice and hard work which may not seem fun at first but in the long run the activity becomes fun once mastered. Chua also believes that Chinese parents can get away with things that Western parents cannot such as calling their child garbage after being misbehaved. Chua states three main differences between Western parents and Chinese parents.
Chinese parents and American parents differ greatly in their parenting styles and a noticeable difference can be seen in the success of their children. The children of Chinese parents often excel in various areas, including in their educational, musical, and professional lives. The children of American parents, however, usually have a harder time excelling in those areas. Chinese parents and American parents hold opposing philosophies about how they view their children, opposing methods about how they raise their children, and opposing effects on the personalities of their children.
In the Chinese society, harsh and stern parenting styles are commonplace. Parents believe that authoritarian parenting style is effective in boosting children’s academic performances. Parents who practise authoritarianism set higher standards and tend to control children through shaming and punishing (Dewar ¶33). When children receive poor grades, parents use blunt vocabulary in order to humiliate their children because they believe that children’s morale
It is true that the ways the parents raise their children will decide how well the children grow, especially the mothers who impact their children the most. There is no right or wrong in how a mother takes care of her children. All of them want the best for their children. The only difference is the level of intensity in how to raise a child. In Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, Amy Chua, a professor at Yale Law School believes that the ways Chinese mothers raise their children are the most effective ways. Her main purpose of this article is to state the differences between Western mothers and Chinese mothers which
The stories "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" by Amy Chua and "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan portray how children are raised in Chinese-American culture and what beliefs predominate in Chinese-American communities. In Chinese-American culture, mothers approach raising their children differently from many other American parents. While there are many similarities among these Chinese parents, variation can still be seen in the level of persistence and determination each individual parent pours into their parenting. These differences in persistence can be what make the difference in the results.
“In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that ‘stressing academic success is not good for children’ or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.’ By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way. Instead, the vast majority of the Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be ‘the best’ students, that ‘academic achievement reflects successful parenting,’ and that if children did not excel at school then there was ‘a problem’ and parents ‘were not doing their job.’ … Chinese parents spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are
Both stories investigate the difference between American and Chinese parenting styles from two women’s point of view – Hanna Rosin and Amy Chua.
Amy Chua, a professor at Yale Law School, the author of “The World on Fire”, “Day of Empire”, and “Why They Fall”, in a Wall street Journal on January 8th, 2011, believes chinese mothers are the most rigorous on their children. The title of the article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” was not chosen by Amy, but by the Wall Street Journal. Even though Amy did not write the title, there is reasoning that she does believe that chinese parenting is superior. Everyone is wondering how their children excel above everyone else. Thesis…
Western parents allow their children to to accept that fact that they got a bad grade on some assignment, while Chinese parents make their children correct whatever they did wrong. Chinese parents order their children to get exceptional grades, while Western parents can only ask their children to do well. Chua says, “If a child came home with an A- on test, a Western parent will most likely praise the child, but the Chinese mother will gasp in horror and ask what went wrong”(Chua 307). Chinese parents believe their children are capable of doing anything as long as they work hard at achieving it. Western parents can only help their children do well in school by trying to prepare them, and not pushing too hard. Chinese parents think that their children owe them everything and not the other way around. This is most likely because Chinese parents work very hard at raising capable children, and that they have worked hard to make them productive in life. Therefore, the parents expect much in return. Chua says “my husband Jed actually has
In “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”, the author Amy Chua stated that every parent, whatever race they are, has their own way of raising their children. Chua brought up some examples in her essay, and she believes that Chinese parents want better for their children, and Western parents are the same way. First the children are involved in different activities. Chua included a study in the essay, which said, “Western children participate in sports, while Chinese parents make their kids practice academic activities” (142-143). Secondly, Chinese parents
Chinese parents that have immigrated to the United States from China are known to have an Authoritative approach to child-rearing. In a study done by Cindy Lin, parents from China (Taiwan), immigrant Chinese living in America, and American parent’s child-rearing practices were compared. In her study she found that Chinese parents tend to control their children more than American Parents, as well as be less
Because America is such a diverse country, there are many differences between cultures of various immigrant groups. Members of each culture, have their own beliefs and values regarding what they think is right. The cultural diversity allows for each person to have a different view of things. Amy Chua’s essay “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” she describes her way of parenting her two daughters following Chinese values about education. She explains how Western parents are much more lenient than Chinese parents with their children and education. Chua gives examples of how she raised her daughter Lulu and Sophia which lead them to achieve success. She makes comparisons between Western and Chinese parenting styles throughout the essay and concludes that both types of parents want the best for their children, but just approach parenting it in different ways. In the article, “Chinese vs Western Mothers: Q&A with Amy Chua,” Amy Chua is interviewed by Belinda Luscombe where she clarifies how her Chinese method of parenting did not hurt her children the way many readers thought it did. Chua explains that her relationship with her two daughters is very strong and believes there are many effective ways of parenting in addition to the Chinese approach. Chua’s essay shows the Chinese immigrant approach to parenting and gives insight into why so many children of Chinese parents are so successful. Discussing the cultural differences shows the risk of stereotyping groups where feelings
In the article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” the author Amy Chua believes that by not allowing their kids to do a lot of things that normal children can do, Chinese mothers produce the smartest children. Some of the things they don’t allow their children to do are attend sleepovers, be in a school play, get a grade less than an A, and choose their own extracurricular activities. Chinese mothers are not superior but abusive because their methods seem to seclude them from learning the communication skills needed for success in their child's adulthood, it can hinder the relationship they have with their children, and can sometimes lead their children to develop thoughts of suicide.
In discussions about raising children in different cultures between Chinese and Western families, Chinese mothers and Western mothers raise their children differently from each other. Amy Chua, in her essay entitled “How Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” argues that Chinese mothers are extremely more strict and harsh when it comes to parenting their children’s self-esteem while Chinese mothers do not while they assume “strength, not fragility” from their children. She also believes that it is necessary to limit the children in their daily lives in order to achieve greatness and honor to their family. Amy Chua is led to this conclusion due to research and examples of her own life as a Chinese daughter as well. My own view on the issue is that Chinese