Introduction
The parenting methods differ across cultures. The traditions in the children’s upbringing seem to be vanished by the process of globalization, which facilitates cross-cultural communication and the dissemination of different information. The book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a bestseller by Amy Chua, a Yale professor and the author of the provocative articles on the children’s upbringing. The articles In the Eye of the Tiger and The Roar of the Tiger Mom are the excerpts from her book, which have been published in the Wall Street Journal. This essay aims to explain the ideas presented by Amy Chua in her works.
The Explanation
Amy Chua descends from the family of the Philippine Chinese immigrants. Nowadays, she is a graduate of Harvard and a professor at Yale University. Amy published her provocative book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in 2011 and received a lot of comments on it, both positive and negative. The book agitates the public for several reasons. The first one is that it touches upon the problem of the cultural differences and the life of immigrants. The second one is that the author supports the extremely strict model of the children’s upbringing, the one, which her parents applied when she was a child. Amy introduces her term a “tiger mom”, which can be explained as the very strict and requiring mother.
The articles In the Eye of the Tiger and The Roar of the Tiger Mom have shaken the public opinion because they present the bold statements of the author. In particular, she stresses that Asian children are much more capable than the kids in the West. She adds that this is due to the models of upbringing, which are traditionally used in the East and the West. However, the readers and critics argue that the approach, which Amy supports, is only the possible alternative in children’s upbringing. It does not mean that it is the only one right and that it is, actually, effective.
In the articles, the author described how she up brought her children. She gave an example of how she forced her daughter to learn a piece of the piano composition. The child was threatened with her favorite doll being given to the religious-charitable organization. Amy also admitted that she said to her daughter that she would be deprived of the dinner, gifts, and holidays if she did not do her homework.
According to Amy, the only way to ensure that your children will be free when they grow up is to restrict them now when they are small. She says that it is the hardship that gives freedom, not the liberty of doing everything you want. Undoubtedly, Amy’s approach is strict and conservative. The followers of the liberal approach argue that Amy is wrong in that the Eastern children are more capable to achieve success than the Western kid’s thanks to such a strict upbringing. They say that if the child is allowed to feel personal freedom, it makes him more flexible. This means that they will adapt to the social changes better and it will be easier for them to find the common language with the others. The critics explain that children have to be given a chance to fail. It is the failure, which strengthens the will, not the success.
Conclusion
In summary, the articles by Amy Chua present an alternative approach to children’s upbringing. The author supports a very strict approach in this respect. She provides her arguments but the critics say that the liberal model of upbringing makes children more adaptable to life changes.