The Micromanaging of Children

Amy Chua’s, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, is about Chua’s first hand experiences with parenting the Chinese way. The traditional Chinese way of parenting includes but is not limited to, a strong presence of the parents in early childhood learning and development, expectations for only the best from one’s child, and a strict schedule that allows no time for play dates or sleepovers (Chua 3). Throughout the pages of Chua’s memoir, the daily struggles and triumphs of Chinese parenting are shown in a way that shines a new light on the subject. On the surface Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother seems to be about the advantages and successes of the Chinese parenting compared to the typical Western parenting, but upon a closer look, this is proven false. The author is faced with difficulties that make it impossible to raise one of her children in the traditional Chinese fashion resulting in the creation of a new genre of parenting that is interwoven into the text as a central message.

Chua believes that it is not a fortuitous occurrence that children with Chinese mothers achieve more academically in life than children with Western mothers. Chua illustrates this position when she states, “Other studies indicate that compared to Western parents, Chinese parents spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams” (Chua 5). This suggests that the more time the mother devotes to her child’s studies the better the education and future study habits of the child. Chua emphasizes that children need to be forced to do things that are beneficial for them regardless of the child’s wishes. For example, Chua depicts this position w...

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...and especially the derogatory name-calling. I would never call my son or daughter “unworthy” or “Terrible daughter” like Chua did to her children. Chua’s explanation is that she knows this name-calling is wrong, but believes that it builds confidence in the child to hear that they are lacking. I believe in positive reinforcement, and constructive criticism is the best way to encourage a child.

My discussion of the use of Chinese parenting methods is in fact addressing the larger matter of expectations of children and the intensity of the involvement of parents in the child’s life. Children need guidance and discipline from their parents to teach them the skills to become a successful adult. The traditional Chinese way of parenting is only one of the many ways to parent, however, it is the one way known to produce the most intelligent and high achieving children.