Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior The article ”Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” focuses on the fact that chinese children are turning out to be so stereotypically successful. Amy Chua points out that there is a big difference between Chinese mothers and Western parents and the way they raise their kids: ”What Chinese parents understands is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up.” I think this quote makes a good picture of how she thinks of herself as a parent and the Western people as parents. To make her point clear she uses a lot of pathos and a lot of examples from experiences with herself and her two daughters, Louisa and Sofia.
Being born in China but living in America, she seems ashamed of her roots and that is why she is embarrassed when her mother speaks broken English (Tan 142-146). But, although she tries hard to be American speaking and writing good English, she realizes that she has deviated from her true self. She finally makes peace with her mother and she starts appreciating her “Mother Tongue”, which consequently affects her writing positively. This shows just how peoples’ native languages are important in their lives. Our “Mother Tongue” is what gives us identity; it defines who we are, and therefore, people should value their native languages.
According to Chua, Chinese parents do not only set strict rules and regulations that their children have to abide by, but they also use negative reinforcement when their children do not want to obey their orders. In contrast, western parents believe that it is unnecessary to control their children preferences such as, no watching T.V, studying excessively and only participating in extracurricular activities that they are assigned to be successful throughout life. However, Chua claims that the children brought up by the “Chinese mother” style of parenting still turn out not only to be mentally, physically, and emotionally stable but happy and as well as successful later on in life. Chua says she knows this because the “Chinese mother” methods help her raise two successful kids. She gives a list of things that her children were not allowed to do, which consist of them not taking part in any school plays or getting any grades less than an A and that it all paid off for her in the end.
It could be inferred that such harsh expectations on Woods has stifled the growth of her identity, because she was forbidden to fulfill her ambitions of becoming a writer, and instead was almost coerced into succeeding academically and making her mother proud. This restricted sense of identity is also evident in the lives of Amy Chua’s daughters. A ‘Tiger Mum’ as featured on 60 Minutes, Chua has rigid rules about what her daughters are and are not allowed to do. Her highly regimented parenting style is a result of the belief that Chinese children should excel in every aspect of life as determined by their parents. Thus, Chua’s daughters also have an identity that is forced onto them, just as Woods had.
While in her mother’s eyes, she only supported her daughter and craved the absolute best for her child. Schwind-Pawlak presents this argument poorly due to her change of heart towards the end of the essay. She does not stick to her beginning argument which causes the opposition to lack stability. The two authors support their arguments by providing evidence. The supporting evidence of the two essay’s help reveal the hardships teenagers face while dealing with their parents.
Essay- Why Chinese mothers are superior The article “why Chinese mothers are superior” by Amy Chua, deals with the differences between western and Chinese parents. Amy believes that the key to raising happy successful kids is by using very strict parenting methods. And she is completely convinced that this is exactly what she has achieved with her own children. Amy believes that it is healthy for kids to be told exactly what to do and what not to do. For instance, Amy has had the same ground rules throughout her children’s life; they are not allowed to get any grades less than an A, they are not allowed to not play the piano and the violin, they are not allowed to engage in play dates, and so on.
Juggling four children, cooking, cleaning and adjusting to a new society puts pressure on Alice’s mother. Since both mother and grandmother are such strong personalities, arguments between the two of them are not uncommon. They both attempt to entice information about one another out of young, unsuspecting Alice, so that they have something to use against each other during future conflicts. Alice describes their ways of deceit as, “Constantly sighing and lying and dying – that is what being a Chinese woman means, and I want nothing to do with it.” (-Part 1, page
with their emphasis on nurturing their children's self-esteem and allowing free expression, have set their children up to accept mediocrity. "Western parents are concerned about their children's psyches. Chinese parents aren't. They assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently," she says. If their child doesn't achieve perfect exam results, the Chinese parent assumes it's because he or she didn't work hard enough.
Chua (a Chinese mother) feels differently, moral and culturally. For example, Murphy expresses, “Ms. Chua claims that her parenting methods will produce ambitious, successful and happy adults while her critics argue that her methods will produce neurotic, self-absorbed and unhappy ones” (279). As Murphy and Chua’s feelings on the importance of childhood years are extremely opposite, there are many supporters to both theories. You can observe this by reading the responses to Murphy’s essay posted online on The Wall Street Journal Website.
Because Sammy has a low Degrees of Self-Disclosure, she do not clearly know what she actually want or do not have her own decision, she made choices without giving much thought and just fulfilling what her parents want. In this case, Sammy’s parents are authoritarian parents. Authoritarian parents are highly demanding and directive but not responsive. “They are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation” (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). Because Sammy’s parents just want Sammy do what they want.