‘Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother’ | Analysis

Indledning
In today’s modern world, all kinds of nationalities are surrounded by each other, and everyone has their own set of values and rules depending on how they were raised.

This can often cause some problematics when these different cultures meet, and especially if it is discussed which way is best when it comes to raising our children.

Amy Chua, otherwise known as Tiger mom, released the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother where she describes how she raises her children in the strict typical Chinese way, in order for them to be successful.

This book has outraged a lot of American people who find this way of parenting almost inhuman, but is this Chinese parenting actually so horrible as it may seem?

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Uddrag
This list the tiger mom has presented in the book, shows that she has a lot of control over her daughter’s life, and that success comes before their social life among other things. This is the typical stereotypical way Chinese raise their children.

This way of parenting does not just affect the children’s social relations, it also gets in the way of their free will.

The tiger mom describes her parenting as very controlled, and an important thing for her, is to teach her kids, that they have to show a certain amount of respect.

A lot of people think that she is too rough on her children, and that it seems like she is trying to break their will. She also admits that her kids’ success always comes before their happiness.

This is evident in the following quote. “But in the end if you ask me to push a button, choose happiness for my kids or success or achievements, happiness is in a second.”

She is a very controlling mother and she rather wants to see her kids have success, than see them happy, which with good reason chock many Americans. In the quote tiger mom makes it very clear what is most important for her.

Americans have a different way of parenting compared to the typical Chinese way. American parenting is less strict, but it can be discussed whether or not this is better for kids.

Americans think that punishing and shaming children all the time, will not have a good impact on them, and therefore it is better to boosts the kid’s self-esteem.

On the other hand, Chinese mothers think that sending kids out into the world with an inflated idea of their own abilities, will set them up for fall. The quote below supports this.