Review
Amy Chua's controversial book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
, has inspired fervent responses - both positive and negative - from BookBrowse readers. Withal, the majority of reviewers agree it is worth a read - 16 out of 23 people rate it 4 or 5 stars:
Some readers applauded Chua's strict parenting style:
Chua's parental practices, which might sound terribly harsh to a Westerner, represent something totally different in the Asian cultural context. The truth is, the world is a harsh place, and Chua, like my parents, is preparing her kids with "tough love." My mother often asked me, "Do you think it is easy to be hard on you? I would love to be the parent who just plays with you all day. If you succeed and do well in the world, who does it benefit? Me? No, it benefits you." I know that I work hard, but like Chua, my mother worked even harder and this...
Beyond the Book
In addition to her book
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua's
Wall Street Journal article entitled, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" (which is excerpted from
Tiger Mother but does not fully represent the message of the book) has created quite a stir in the media, and has inspired hundreds of opinionated articles and blog postings around the world. (Of note: Chua denies titling the article herself.) In it, among other things, she explains the benefits of what she considers "Chinese mothering" and highlights three major differences between the Chinese and Western parental mind-sets:
First, I've noticed that Western parents are extremely anxious about their children's self-esteem. They worry about how their children will feel if they...
