In today’s World, parenting is one of the most criticized topics. What may seem like a good parenting tool to one mother could be viewed as the complete opposite to another. We ask ourselves, “why is this?” What are some of the factors that affect our parenting styles? Does culture and society have something to do with it? Let’s take a look at two different Mothers who have separate backgrounds and cultures, and see how they view parenting as a Mother.
When you take a look at the Chinese culture, you often view them as a culture with traditions, values, history and success. The majority of the Chinese people are highly educated, and they become this way because the parents implemented education to them as a young child. In Amy Chua’s article “why Chinese Mothers are superior,” she explains exactly just that. She does not agree that children should have play dates, sleepovers, attend school plays, watch television or play computer games. Instead, she thinks that every child should earn nothing less than an A in school, and should know how to play and cite read the piano and violin. From day one, the child’s main focus is education. Amy makes a comparison of “Chinese Mothers” and Mothers of “Chinese heritage,” such as Westerners with a Chinese background. It is her belief that Westerners don’t have the same strict rules that a Chinese parent has. The academic installment into a child is not there the way it is in China. Amy cited that “Chinese Mothers believe their children can be “the best” students and that “academic achievement reflects successful parenting.” She goes on to say that if children did not excel at school, then there was a problem and parents were not doing their job. So rather than blame the problem on the child, the parents are often looked at for partial blame also.
It is evident that Amy truly believes in the Chinese way of parenting. She states that one of the main issues with Western parenting is how they are concerned with...