The article above, printed in the Wall Street Journal on January 8, 2011, has created a firestorm of responses to the strict parenting tactics used by Amy Chua and previous Chinese Mothers before her. When I look back on how my parents raised my siblings and I, I would say that they were pretty strict, but not a fearful way. Although I was never spanked or ridiculed by them, I was afraid of disappointing them. How did they do that? They were very loving, encouraging, and nurtured us in finding our own paths in life. Is being strict and setting boundaries such a bad thing?
Here is another take...
"In Defense of the Guilty, Ambivalent, Preoccupied Western Mom", by Ayelet Waldman
Ayelet Waldman puts it best when she writes, "Amy Chua and I both understand that our job as mothers is to be the type of tigress that each of our different cubs needs". Thank you Amy Chua for giving us the Chinese Mother's perspective. You can read all 8000+ reactions to Chua's article on the http://www.wsj.com/ site.
No comments:
Post a Comment