Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior By Amy Chua Summary

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

For instance, showing affection and care towards the child can form bonds between the child and the parent, which leads to better trust, no stress for the child or for the parent, and possibly a confidence boost. Chinese parents do the opposite causing stress to the whole family and can sometimes lead to high blood pressure and high stress levels. In worse cases, it can lead to physical abuse and hate towards each other in the family causing the family to fall apart. Another way Chinese mothers are not superior is that they limit their children’s everyday life.

Amy Chua stirs up a controversial topic of the differences between Chinese and Western parenting styles in the article “Adapted from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”. One may believe that the Chinese way is too harsh as others may believe Western parents are too lenient. Any parent can relate to one or both parenting styles that Chua is discussing. This article is reaching out to parents who are unaware of the Chinese and Western parenting styles. To give the readers a better understanding of how each parenting style works. This article was based on Chua’s personal experiences as a Chinese parent.

Chinese parents feel that their children have a responsibility to obey them and pay them back for their efforts in raising them. American parents, on the

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.

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

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.

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

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

Chinese mothers being superior and any mother claiming that their way of parenting will always be biased. Every mother is going to think that their way of parenting is the best way. Especially parents that create a prodigy. It could be the parenting or the child was just born smart. Either way, that parent is going to claim they did something better than another parent, even though there is no way to prove it. There are too many factors that play into this topic to prove which parenting method is the most superior.

One day, Amy Chua decided to write an essay called, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” Amy Chua is a professor at Yale Law School. Chua is a Chinese woman with two daughters. In the essay, Chua compared the differences between Chinese and Western parenting styles. There are different ways of parenting being used everywhere; the four main parenting styles include, Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and Uninvolved. In the essay Chua made it clear that Western and Chinese parenting styles differ. I tend to agree, as well as disagree with the examples and statements Chua used to compare the way they differ. I believe Chua did an amazing job contrasting Chinese and Western parenting styles.

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

In order to push through these struggles during drilling or practicing, harsh punishments may need to be put in place. The need for these punishments allows Chinese parents to get away with “...things that would seem unimaginable - even legally actionable - to Westerners” (Chua). Amy Chua then uses her own experiences to show how harsh the punishments may seem, but in the end the child grows from them. The western parent's strategy toward reprimanding is to do so nicely, in the best attempt not to damage their child's self esteem.

Is it true that Chinese parenting methods create more successful children? In Chua’s article she discusses how she believes a child’s success is dependent upon the parental success. She reminisces

“I expect nothing but the best. If it is not an A, you are not striving to the best of your ability. You cannot be a musician; you have to be a doctor. You can only be someone when you ARE someone. That will only happen after you take ten extra lessons outside of school, and you also have to learn how to play all types of instruments. My main point is, you have to be the best.” For many centuries, cultures from all around have had many debates on the correct way of parenting. In recent times, a specific type of parenting has been in the spotlight: the parenting of Asian mothers. They are known as very passive and submissive to strangers, but to their own kids they turn around 360 and becoming very aggressive and demanding. Many Westerners think Easterners way of parenting is cruel and inhumane. Westerners think that Asian mothers have goals that are unrealistic; they are selfish because they are simply living their dream through their children. Asian mothers, on the other hand, claim they do it all out of love.