Critique
In the article “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” the author, Amy Chua, provides the
argument that strictness and negative reinforcement are the most effective ways for a child to
reach success. Chua is a mother of two, and has chosen to raise her children the way her culture
has taught her to. This is a very controversial issue due to the massive differences between the
Chinese and American parenting method.
Chua believes that American parents are too easy and not demanding enough to raise a
successful child. Her view states that when the child has given up on something, that’s when
they should be pushed the hardest to accomplish their goals. She believes that through criticism
and punishment, the child will be properly motivated to succeed on their own. In her eyes, these
methods are the first-rate way to prepare a child for the future. They provide the child with work
habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.
Chua’s view of parenting originated from hundreds of years of Chinese tradition with the
goal of building the most productive, morally competent individual that was possible. She has
an immeasurable amount of confidence that her method is the true legitimate way to be an
exceptional parent. Although she has a massive amount of experience and knowledge of her
method, she appears to have an uninformed biased view of how American parenting really is.
The Chinese method is extremely meaningful to their culture, which is something that the
majority of Chinese people honor and hold true. The same cannot be said about the American
method. Americans don’t have one view of how children should be raised, due to the amount of
diversity and traditions that are upheld side by side one another.
Though Chua’s tradition has benefits to building morals and initiative, I believe they
ultimately take away from the true reasons for living....