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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I could relate to this book a lot, I actually have a Tiger mother myself, but not to the nth degree like this author. I understand where she comes from and definitely brings up some interesting clashes of western vs. asian society. It's an honest memoir and I can tell was difficult to write but I thought she did a wonderful job.
Love her conviction yet her ability to admit that she may be wrong. She's not the devil incarnate, she's just a mother doing things the best she knows how. This doesn't mean I agree with her parenting style, I just like how she writes about it and that she cares so much that she's willing to be unpopular. Let's not fight as mothers, let's just support each other as we try to do our best.
This is basically one person’s very well-hyped parenting memoir. There is nothing that brings out polarizing opinions more than the topic of parenting. Like it or not, it reflects on you, it consumes you, even if you try really hard to not let it be that way, which is probably why this book has gotten so much attention.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with expecting excellence from your children, plus you can hardly argue with her results, her daughters are incredibly accomplished in every area of their lives. On the most basic level, a person has to be able to take care of themselves, and that does mean a certain amount of achievement and success. Ultimately though, the Chua-Rubenfelds are obsessed with a specific type of status and success which is not going to guarantee happiness, but she is the first to admit that happiness for her children is not really her goal. Her anecdotes are fascinating and I completely admire Amy Chua’s willingness to be so open and honest about her parenting challenges, she’ll be opening herself to a lot of criticism from judgey mommies everywhere. I found her obsessive methods to be not that different from the millions of super intense hockey/figure skating/football/etc parents out there, maybe that is just the price of excellence?
This book is engaging, very well written, touching, and totally hilarious at times, worth the read. I don’t think this is a memoir worth purchasing though, there is nothing here that you will need to revisit.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with expecting excellence from your children, plus you can hardly argue with her results, her daughters are incredibly accomplished in every area of their lives. On the most basic level, a person has to be able to take care of themselves, and that does mean a certain amount of achievement and success. Ultimately though, the Chua-Rubenfelds are obsessed with a specific type of status and success which is not going to guarantee happiness, but she is the first to admit that happiness for her children is not really her goal. Her anecdotes are fascinating and I completely admire Amy Chua’s willingness to be so open and honest about her parenting challenges, she’ll be opening herself to a lot of criticism from judgey mommies everywhere. I found her obsessive methods to be not that different from the millions of super intense hockey/figure skating/football/etc parents out there, maybe that is just the price of excellence?
This book is engaging, very well written, touching, and totally hilarious at times, worth the read. I don’t think this is a memoir worth purchasing though, there is nothing here that you will need to revisit.
Amy Chua takes readers on a journey through trying to parent using the "Chinese model" in Western Culture. Her household -- both on the daily and during major life events -- is interesting to say the least. Essential, Chua attempts to raise her girls in rigid, dog-eat-dog Chinese practices that we do not typically see in North America.
There were so many times during my reading that I'd grit my teeth and think, "God, Amy, just calm down. Don't make her play the violin if she doesn't want to play it! Don't make her play the piano and travel hours in the care just for a half hour lesson with some kind of 'expert.'"
Despite her rigid and painful child-rearing practices, Chua raises questions that Western parents should seriously consider. What happens when we give our children "free reign" to choose their "passion" at such a young age? Do they even KNOW what their "passion" is at that point? This book as made me revisit my own path of life: I chose to major in English in college, a program that people deem "useless" because the degree doesn't exactly open up a world of possibilities.
My reason behind this choice is that reading and writing are my "passions." I'm happy to say that my choice of programs + my advanced degree in the same has worked out for me. So, what's best? Forcing your kids do engage in what you feel is "acceptable" and "bullet proof" as far as prestige and career paths, or letting them follow their heart (even at a young age)?
This book will help you ponder on the former. Highly recommended. The ending is short, but it encapsulates Chua's perspective throughout: She is a Chinese mother living in a Western world, and even she gives in some times.
There were so many times during my reading that I'd grit my teeth and think, "God, Amy, just calm down. Don't make her play the violin if she doesn't want to play it! Don't make her play the piano and travel hours in the care just for a half hour lesson with some kind of 'expert.'"
Despite her rigid and painful child-rearing practices, Chua raises questions that Western parents should seriously consider. What happens when we give our children "free reign" to choose their "passion" at such a young age? Do they even KNOW what their "passion" is at that point? This book as made me revisit my own path of life: I chose to major in English in college, a program that people deem "useless" because the degree doesn't exactly open up a world of possibilities.
My reason behind this choice is that reading and writing are my "passions." I'm happy to say that my choice of programs + my advanced degree in the same has worked out for me. So, what's best? Forcing your kids do engage in what you feel is "acceptable" and "bullet proof" as far as prestige and career paths, or letting them follow their heart (even at a young age)?
This book will help you ponder on the former. Highly recommended. The ending is short, but it encapsulates Chua's perspective throughout: She is a Chinese mother living in a Western world, and even she gives in some times.
Honesty even not as a mother I understand the struggle. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and made me think a lot about my relationship with my own mother as well.
I see a lot of negative reviews on this book and I simply don't understand it; clearly these people did not finish the book or their pride won't let them see the faults in their own upbringing and parenting. In this book, Amy Chua explained her parent's struggle as Chinese immigrants, how her childhood was affected by it and her journey raising her own children. That's it, really. Half of the things people are upset about have an obvious sarcastic tone to them and actually made me laugh before I thought to take offense, but Americans (of all ethnic backgrounds) tend to get offended when their child-rearing skills are called into question, if you want to be honest.
Her main concern in this book is that she is American born, living in a Western society, struggling to raise her children to be the best and the brightest. Doing this in the 21st century where what she called "liberal parents" are so into coddling their children and assuming self-esteem, intellectual capacity and work ethic are things that are developed through nurture, and not integral to our being by way of nature, is difficult. I can think of several ways in which Western parents suck at parenting and will probably continue to suck even more as parents-to-be begin to raise children.
What stuck most in my mind about her troubles with Western parenting is the blame game; many Western parents will blame testing or the school system before they question their child's academic prowess. It's always the school's fault and there's always a reason the parents aren't held liable for their child's lack of education. Often, Western philosophy of education suggests that learning should be fun, not work; fluent, not abstract or critical; and slow-paced. Standardized tests are often chastised and new "learning disabilities" and "learning styles" are lobbied for every time we open the newspaper. "Test anxiety" is no longer seen as unpreparedness, but a legitimate excuse not to excel. "Learning styles" are tested for and re-training for teachers (which has constantly proven to have null results) is paid for by the DOE, under the premise that if you cater to every student's learning preference, a positive change in academic performance will occur.
So I see her concern. Her conversations with parents, mentioned in the book here and there, are usually negative but sometimes curious. Her peers consider her children to be model students and citizens until they find out that she drills her children. Making them play instruments six hours a day, teaching them mathematical skills two years ahead of their grade level and accepting nothing but the best from her children, even if that could mean doing things that her peers may not agree with. All-in-all I saw nothing but dedication and this story was more of a love story between her and her children and a learning experience for her raising children in Western society.
The book is not all nagging and long nights practicing sheet music. She admits that raising her children taught her a lot about compromise. She speaks of learning her children's personalities and how she uniquely raised them based on their willingness to cooperate and their abilities. She speaks of frustration and worry she had for her children and how they surprised her in more ways than one. She learns a lot from her children and learns that they're just as tough as she is. They were just as much of a tiger as she was.
I admired this book because Chua is a mother in the professional world who did not dump her children onto the education system and let them take it from there. She may have busted her ass to get the job of her dreams but she still stayed up late to work on her children's music recitals and homework duties. She is deeply involved in her children's academics and determined to ask her children to work as hard as they can. Nothing she mentioned in this book was anything her children, or any child, couldn't handle. She's tough, but she's also compassionate. She worked her way to the top, as did her parents, and she wants her children to work just as diligently.
Her main concern in this book is that she is American born, living in a Western society, struggling to raise her children to be the best and the brightest. Doing this in the 21st century where what she called "liberal parents" are so into coddling their children and assuming self-esteem, intellectual capacity and work ethic are things that are developed through nurture, and not integral to our being by way of nature, is difficult. I can think of several ways in which Western parents suck at parenting and will probably continue to suck even more as parents-to-be begin to raise children.
What stuck most in my mind about her troubles with Western parenting is the blame game; many Western parents will blame testing or the school system before they question their child's academic prowess. It's always the school's fault and there's always a reason the parents aren't held liable for their child's lack of education. Often, Western philosophy of education suggests that learning should be fun, not work; fluent, not abstract or critical; and slow-paced. Standardized tests are often chastised and new "learning disabilities" and "learning styles" are lobbied for every time we open the newspaper. "Test anxiety" is no longer seen as unpreparedness, but a legitimate excuse not to excel. "Learning styles" are tested for and re-training for teachers (which has constantly proven to have null results) is paid for by the DOE, under the premise that if you cater to every student's learning preference, a positive change in academic performance will occur.
So I see her concern. Her conversations with parents, mentioned in the book here and there, are usually negative but sometimes curious. Her peers consider her children to be model students and citizens until they find out that she drills her children. Making them play instruments six hours a day, teaching them mathematical skills two years ahead of their grade level and accepting nothing but the best from her children, even if that could mean doing things that her peers may not agree with. All-in-all I saw nothing but dedication and this story was more of a love story between her and her children and a learning experience for her raising children in Western society.
The book is not all nagging and long nights practicing sheet music. She admits that raising her children taught her a lot about compromise. She speaks of learning her children's personalities and how she uniquely raised them based on their willingness to cooperate and their abilities. She speaks of frustration and worry she had for her children and how they surprised her in more ways than one. She learns a lot from her children and learns that they're just as tough as she is. They were just as much of a tiger as she was.
I admired this book because Chua is a mother in the professional world who did not dump her children onto the education system and let them take it from there. She may have busted her ass to get the job of her dreams but she still stayed up late to work on her children's music recitals and homework duties. She is deeply involved in her children's academics and determined to ask her children to work as hard as they can. Nothing she mentioned in this book was anything her children, or any child, couldn't handle. She's tough, but she's also compassionate. She worked her way to the top, as did her parents, and she wants her children to work just as diligently.
C'mon, it's funny. I'd love to have a drink with Amy Chua, if she had the time.
I definitely wouldn’t have the energy required for this parenting approach or way of life. Hopefully the mental health of her daughters is intact as they enter adulthood.
This was a very fast read. I am really glad that I read it because it made me reflect on my own beliefs as a parent. Chua is merciless with Western lenient parents who offer lego sets to practice piano. Of course, I wish that my son played piano, but I know that Chinese or not, I would not have Chua's drive or stamina. It was interesting that Chua pointed out that often Chinese parents assume their kids are strong and not fragile which is why they can berate them.
Additionally, Chua often mentioned how her husband, Jed, and she separated out the caregiving tasks. I found their relationship interesting. Jed was willing to stand by Chua even as she was literally torturing her daughters with hours of supervised practice, even though Jed did not necessarily have the same beliefs as Chua.
So...I was ready to enroll my son in piano again during the book, as I read about how driven and sure Chua was that practice would serve her children well. Or maybe I'll practice tennis, instead?
Additionally, Chua often mentioned how her husband, Jed, and she separated out the caregiving tasks. I found their relationship interesting. Jed was willing to stand by Chua even as she was literally torturing her daughters with hours of supervised practice, even though Jed did not necessarily have the same beliefs as Chua.
So...I was ready to enroll my son in piano again during the book, as I read about how driven and sure Chua was that practice would serve her children well. Or maybe I'll practice tennis, instead?