ASA 002 A03
15 November 2015
Blog 9
Perhaps because my parents are also Chinese immigrants, I compare the claims Chua makes about Chinese immigrant parents to my own experiences, and when they don’t match up I pause and question her credibility and logic. I understand that in the beginning of the author she uses the name “Chinese” loosely, but that doesn’t stop be from flinching when she makes statements about what Chinese parents care about and what they don’t. On page 2, the author discusses some polls that show some of the differences between “Chinese immigrant mothers” and “westerns” when it comes to parenting. I was surprised to read that “roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers” felt that “stressing academic success is not good for children” or that “parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.” Coming from the “No. 1 most Asian city in America” according to Forbes, I’ve grown up surrounded by many Chinese Immigrant mothers, who all of whom seem to have different opinions on how to raise their children. Some fall closer to the tiger mom stereotype this article is referencing, but many others have a more laid-back parenting approach, which made me surprised to see that not reflected in the polls used in this article. Chua promotes her method of raising children and refers to an instance where she screamed names at her 7 year old child who couldn’t play a piano piece correctly. Chua says that her consistent pushing was what made her daughter eventually succeed in performing the piece, but I’d argue that her way of motivating her kids through coercion and threats will eventually fuel resentment, unhappiness, and unethical behavior. However, I don’t advocate for parents to neglect the importance of academics and fill children with false praise either. I think there needs to be a balance between mental health and striving for excellence, but how should parents find a balance between the two and where should they draw the line?
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