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scwilder 's review for:
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
by Amy Chua
After all the reviews I had to download and read this myself. My comment: Chua's insane. But I admire her. The thing is, despite how crazy her parenting style might be, she's always there with her children. She believes in them. Actually, she believes in all humans (AND dogs). She's the kind of person who believes in the human potential. That everbody's got the ability to excel if they keep trying. Practice, practice, practice is the key. And due to her belief she acts the way she does.
To Chua childhood is the time to prepare for adulthood. She knows from her experience how competitive it is out there. So all she wanted to do and did was prepare her kids to be a fighter, to not give up, and do their very best. Every good mother wants that. As hard as she was with the girls, before the big event she'd tell her daughters that it didn't matter what the outcome was. But knowing that the girls gave everything they got for the big day, was what mattered (although of course the highest possible award was always Chua's goal for the girls).
I grew up with a Chinese dad. It was no slumber party, no extra curriculum, anything but an A was unacceptable, and even after being first in class it wasn't "great job" that I heard but it was "do better next time". But, unlike Chua, I had to figure out how to do better on my own and if I made a mistake, even the smallest thing, he'd not speak to me for a day at least. I'd trade all the yelling, screaming, practice until midnight for the silence and having to try to figure out how to be the best on my own. I did the Lulu. I still did well but there was no more do better next time after middle school.
I loved the book. It's a quick read, it's got many funny parts (she's got a dry and sarcastic kind of humor), it even has some sad parts, and all in all very personal. I think, despite her still believing that the "Chinese" way is better, she knows now that it's not for all. It didn't work for her dogs and it it could have been dangerous with Lulu if Chua didn't do the right thing after the big blow-up.
I have two daughters. It's great to know that there's somebody who's 30x more intense than I am. We have no TV at home, no DVD player in car, and we practice math and reading everyday (1st grader). She has guitar lesson and she was in gymnastics (we moved and still on waiting list now) but they're just for fun. I make her practice but there's no yelling or screaming and a little bit of bribery is still legal here.
It's a shame that it got such negative comments based on the excerpt. Yes Chua's extreme, yes some of the things she did was crazy but her kids did turn out incredible and based on the letter from her eldest daughter Chua taught them many valuable lessons on how to take on life's many challenges.
To Chua childhood is the time to prepare for adulthood. She knows from her experience how competitive it is out there. So all she wanted to do and did was prepare her kids to be a fighter, to not give up, and do their very best. Every good mother wants that. As hard as she was with the girls, before the big event she'd tell her daughters that it didn't matter what the outcome was. But knowing that the girls gave everything they got for the big day, was what mattered (although of course the highest possible award was always Chua's goal for the girls).
I grew up with a Chinese dad. It was no slumber party, no extra curriculum, anything but an A was unacceptable, and even after being first in class it wasn't "great job" that I heard but it was "do better next time". But, unlike Chua, I had to figure out how to do better on my own and if I made a mistake, even the smallest thing, he'd not speak to me for a day at least. I'd trade all the yelling, screaming, practice until midnight for the silence and having to try to figure out how to be the best on my own. I did the Lulu. I still did well but there was no more do better next time after middle school.
I loved the book. It's a quick read, it's got many funny parts (she's got a dry and sarcastic kind of humor), it even has some sad parts, and all in all very personal. I think, despite her still believing that the "Chinese" way is better, she knows now that it's not for all. It didn't work for her dogs and it it could have been dangerous with Lulu if Chua didn't do the right thing after the big blow-up.
I have two daughters. It's great to know that there's somebody who's 30x more intense than I am. We have no TV at home, no DVD player in car, and we practice math and reading everyday (1st grader). She has guitar lesson and she was in gymnastics (we moved and still on waiting list now) but they're just for fun. I make her practice but there's no yelling or screaming and a little bit of bribery is still legal here.
It's a shame that it got such negative comments based on the excerpt. Yes Chua's extreme, yes some of the things she did was crazy but her kids did turn out incredible and based on the letter from her eldest daughter Chua taught them many valuable lessons on how to take on life's many challenges.