Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the perspective on how she raises her kids. I found the idea of making sure your kids excel in the thing you choose for them, so that they /then/ fall in love with the hobby (really, they're falling in love with the feeling of excelling). The failure mode of this sort of parenting is also made clear, when the mom succeeds with one of her children but gets burnt with another. I found this lens on parenting fascinating.
Pretty much hated it. I endured all the horrid descriptions of the mother's yelling, shaming, belittling, etc. of her daughters with the hope that she, the author, would grow and learn from her mistakes (the book held forth that pretense). But nope. She essentially destroys her relationship with her second daughter yet still, in the last chapter, Chua decries "liberal" Western parenting and maintains that Chinese parenting is better. I could go on and on, but it would make me too upset.
wow! This is extreme parenting. I love how the author's daughters were able to accomplish so much in a short amount of time, but the long hours of practice it required are insane for a small child! everyone needs to find that balance of pushing your child to greatness and backing off and letting them achieve on their own. this lady micro managed her kids lives and they hated it! The author was manipulative and emotionally abusive, but this was a very entertaining read. I'm curious to know more about the dynamics of her marriage. she left a lot out of the book, as her whole family edited it! I want the whole truth.
I chose to read this book for a school assignment a few years ago – an analysis of a on non-fiction novel – and I am so glad I did! I absolutely loved it. On a personal level, I saw myself and my mother in Amy Chua and her youngest daughter, Louisa, and found their story so captivating and relatable. As a reader, I loved the author's style. Everything she wrote was so raw and honest that it just made the whole story so much more enjoyable and impactful. I could not recommend this book more!
Please, please, PLEASE, for the love of God and everything sacred, don't go into this book thinking it's a how-to parenting book. Amy Chua has stated multiple times that it's SATIRE, that it's a SELF-PARODY. That means, for those of you who don't know, that she is poking fun at herself.
Great! Now that all of you have understood that, you might actually enjoy this read instead of calling her a fascist or an abusive parent. I personally found this book to be witty, hilarious, and honestly very refreshing. I found myself laughing out loud, and truly enjoying Amy Chua's style of writing. When you're a human being with a sense of humour, you realise that the book is an ode to parents who will do anything to give their kid a better life than the one they had. The hands-on Chinese parenting style she describes isn't aimed at being abusive; rather, it allows children to really understand what working hard at something does for you. And I think that's good--I think it's good for children to understand what it's like to reap the fruits of their labour, and to really understand that nothing in life comes easily. But children don't think about the future, they think about the present and what they feel like in the present. And that's what parents are for! Parents are meant to guide their children, even when their children don't feel like doing it. Even when their children throw tantrums about learning their mother tongue, or learning another language. Being a parent means you're going to do what you think is best for your child, you're going to sacrifice and give everything you've got for your child, without regard to what the child feels, because honestly, what does your 5 year old know more than you? As a parent, you want your kid to be the best that they can be. So you push them to be better than they are, because you want to be reassured that they're getting the most of out life that they can.
And that's what Amy Chua has done for her kids. Maybe you don't agree with her style of parenting for your kids, but maybe that's why your kids aren't as accomplished.
Great! Now that all of you have understood that, you might actually enjoy this read instead of calling her a fascist or an abusive parent. I personally found this book to be witty, hilarious, and honestly very refreshing. I found myself laughing out loud, and truly enjoying Amy Chua's style of writing. When you're a human being with a sense of humour, you realise that the book is an ode to parents who will do anything to give their kid a better life than the one they had. The hands-on Chinese parenting style she describes isn't aimed at being abusive; rather, it allows children to really understand what working hard at something does for you. And I think that's good--I think it's good for children to understand what it's like to reap the fruits of their labour, and to really understand that nothing in life comes easily. But children don't think about the future, they think about the present and what they feel like in the present. And that's what parents are for! Parents are meant to guide their children, even when their children don't feel like doing it. Even when their children throw tantrums about learning their mother tongue, or learning another language. Being a parent means you're going to do what you think is best for your child, you're going to sacrifice and give everything you've got for your child, without regard to what the child feels, because honestly, what does your 5 year old know more than you? As a parent, you want your kid to be the best that they can be. So you push them to be better than they are, because you want to be reassured that they're getting the most of out life that they can.
And that's what Amy Chua has done for her kids. Maybe you don't agree with her style of parenting for your kids, but maybe that's why your kids aren't as accomplished.
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Before I give a review I should be honest about my dreams for my girls. I want them to make their own choices, good and bad, and learn from them. I want them to do well in school. But most of all I want them to grow into thoughtful, independent, self-confident and self-assure, individual women. I am a Western parent.
I thought the book was disturbing, hilarious, and heartwarming all at the same time. At times I just wanted to smack the author upside the head and tell her to get some perspective. Then I realized that she didn't need perspective. In her eyes she was doing what every good parent does, she was doing what she thought was best for her kids. As much as I may disagree with the level to which she took her Chinese parenting, I do admire her committment and dedication.
Statement I agreed with:
p. 49 during an argument with her daughter: "My goal as a parent is to prepare you for the future -- not to make you like me."
Statement that makes me cringe and want to argue:
"I came to see that Chinese parents have two things over their Western counterparts: (1) higher dreams for their children, and (2) higher regard for their children in the sense of knowing how much they can take."
I thought the book was disturbing, hilarious, and heartwarming all at the same time. At times I just wanted to smack the author upside the head and tell her to get some perspective. Then I realized that she didn't need perspective. In her eyes she was doing what every good parent does, she was doing what she thought was best for her kids. As much as I may disagree with the level to which she took her Chinese parenting, I do admire her committment and dedication.
Statement I agreed with:
p. 49 during an argument with her daughter: "My goal as a parent is to prepare you for the future -- not to make you like me."
Statement that makes me cringe and want to argue:
"I came to see that Chinese parents have two things over their Western counterparts: (1) higher dreams for their children, and (2) higher regard for their children in the sense of knowing how much they can take."
It's a fascinating read about a mother raising her children in the Chinese way and her feelings about American parenting. Crazy? Maybe. Interesting? Definitely!
This book is the funniest book I have read this year. It is very well written and reads very quickly.
Whether you believe in the parenting methods of Amy Chua or not, you will have a great time with this book.
Highly recommended.
Whether you believe in the parenting methods of Amy Chua or not, you will have a great time with this book.
Highly recommended.