ASA 2 | A01
Week 9
In this article, Amy Chua suggests that Chinese parenting, or "tiger parenting", may be more successful than Western parenting in breeding successful children. She supports this claim by outlining her own methods of parenting as a tiger mom, describing its positive outcomes on her own children, and then contrasting it with Western methods. By reasoning her devotion to raising her daughters to be the best that they can be, as well as highlighting their happiness in their own success, Chua challenges the misinterpretations of tiger parents as "scheming, callous, overdriven people indifferent to their kids' true interests".
Although Chua's purpose may be simply to fortify the image of Chinese familial customs, her article speaks in a tone that seems to simultaneously criticize Western values. The title of her article, alone, may come as offense to other mothers who are not Chinese, as well as fathers, and might even imply that Chinese parenting is the correct, if not most effective, way in raising successful children. However, according to a study at the University of Texas Austin, parents who are more supportive and easygoing - which Chua identifies with Western practices - seem to have a better effect on their children's developmental outcomes. On the other hand, children raised by harsh/tiger parents generally have lower GPA and educational attainment from more academic pressure, more depressive symptoms, and a greater sense of alienation. (Kim et al., 2013)
In my opinion, neither Western parenting or Chinese parenting is "superior" to the other. Every person's relationship with his/her parent(s) differs, as well as in how they respond to their treatment. Although parenting does play a crucial role in a child's development, I don't think it is necessarily what will determine their success entirely.
Q: What motivates you to be successful?
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