Chinese v. western mothers
COMPARE CONTRAST ESSAY
A Parents Preference
Amy Chua, a professor at Yale Law School and author of “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”, gives us an inside look at the norm for raising children in the typical Chinese home. Demanding absolute perfection in all tasks attempted and constant scrutiny for anything less, essentially imprisoning their children and humiliating them to the point they will do anything to gain approval. Hanna Rosin, author of "Mother Inferior", on the other hand, takes the "Western" approach to parenting. She believes childhood is a time for experimenting and learning though personal experiences. Ms. Rosin would rather her children express interest or talent in a few things, so they become experts at something they love. Both parenting styles have virtually no common ground except that ultimately both parents want what is best for their children, however, their ideas on what is best are also up for debate. Which way is the most effective for raising a successful child?
Amy Chua goes into great detail explaining how much more strict and demanding “Chinese” mothers are than “western” mothers. For example, Chinese mothers do not allow their children to attend sleepovers or have play dates, they cannot watch TV, or choose what extracurricular activities they participate in. She emphasizes the importance Chinese mothers place on their children’s academic success, and even says “academic success reflects successful parenting and that if children did not excel at school then there was a problem and parents were not doing their job”(Chua, 2011). She says that westerners are too concerned with protecting their children’s self-esteem and will give up when pushing their children begins to get tough. In contrast, the Chinese mother will spend up to 10 times longer drilling academics with their children than their western counterparts, whose children are more likely to participate in sports than focus on education. Children
A Parents Preference
Amy Chua, a professor at Yale Law School and author of “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”, gives us an inside look at the norm for raising children in the typical Chinese home. Demanding absolute perfection in all tasks attempted and constant scrutiny for anything less, essentially imprisoning their children and humiliating them to the point they will do anything to gain approval. Hanna Rosin, author of "Mother Inferior", on the other hand, takes the "Western" approach to parenting. She believes childhood is a time for experimenting and learning though personal experiences. Ms. Rosin would rather her children express interest or talent in a few things, so they become experts at something they love. Both parenting styles have virtually no common ground except that ultimately both parents want what is best for their children, however, their ideas on what is best are also up for debate. Which way is the most effective for raising a successful child?
Amy Chua goes into great detail explaining how much more strict and demanding “Chinese” mothers are than “western” mothers. For example, Chinese mothers do not allow their children to attend sleepovers or have play dates, they cannot watch TV, or choose what extracurricular activities they participate in. She emphasizes the importance Chinese mothers place on their children’s academic success, and even says “academic success reflects successful parenting and that if children did not excel at school then there was a problem and parents were not doing their job”(Chua, 2011). She says that westerners are too concerned with protecting their children’s self-esteem and will give up when pushing their children begins to get tough. In contrast, the Chinese mother will spend up to 10 times longer drilling academics with their children than their western counterparts, whose children are more likely to participate in sports than focus on education. Children
References: Chua, A. (2011). Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. (The Penguin Press Group Inc. 2011) USA. Rosin, H. (2011). Mother Inferior. (The Wall Street Journal. 2011 ). USA.