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.
Chua emphasizes that the different parenting mode Chinese parents use in comparison to that of Western parents reflect how “they would give up anything for their children.” However, from children’s perspectives, would children appreciate and acknowledge such a parenting mode and believe that their Chinese parents truly care them? Chua believes that her “Chinese parenting mode” is the most effective for a child but her belief is valid only to her and other Chinese parents because they are simply parents, not children. Chua has not considered a modern day child’s perspective on such a way of parenting. In fact, such strict rules and punishments can end up producing an unhealthy thought to children, causing them to become depressed or mentally ill or traumatized by their parents’ harsh discipline. From my knowledge, I grew up with a family friend, Amber, whose parents were just as how Chua characterize Chinese parents.
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.
Although the children, representing Americanized Chinese, are rather separated from their mother’s culture, they still find a tune they can relate to. There is no mocking or animosity towards the Chinese culture, rather an understanding. Similarly, Kingston creates a new identity for herself as Chinese-American by coming to terms with her mother’s often-frustrating Chinese culture. She does not belittle the native’s culture or overly
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.
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.
Esperanza received her name from her great-grandmother; Esperanza and her great-grandmother were both born during the Chinese year of the horse, which means strength. For women, this was considered "bad luck" but Esperanza did not believe in "luck", she wanted to be strong. Esperanza wanted to be strong enough to leave Mango street. Her great-grandmother was forced into marriage and although Esperanza got her grandmother's name, she did not want to be forced into marriage and she promised herself that she wouldn’t. Esperanza had a little sister named Magdalena but she was called Nenny.
She had invested the time trying to make Jing-mei a prodigy because she was her last hope. Jing-mei’s mother had lost two children while in China. Jing-mei’s mother also expected her to be a prodigy because she was a Chinese immigrant; she felt immigrants had to prove that they were as talented as or more talented than Americans were. <br> <br>Jing-mei’s mother didn’t know what she wanted her to do, so she experimented. First came the dancing and singing trails, “ at first my mother wanted me to be a Chinese Shirley Temple†(Tan 450).
However her mother is accepting of her behavior and says, “But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. You only shame is to have shame” (608). When her mother saw her reaction, she went to look for the reason behind her upset and tried to teach her to think in positive way. This example shows that a mother’s patience in teaching and listening a child could tremendously strengthen a relationship.