Are Chinese Mothers The Best Kind of Mothers?

Amy Chua is a Chinese professor at the Harvard Law School. She penned a book aptly titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. She is a mother that is a tiger that roars. According to Chua, she has successfully raised two brilliant daughters who excel both in academic subjects and music.

Amy Chua the Tiger Mother

Her method may be alien to the Western world but to Asians, it's quite normal especially among the Chinese.

She forces her children to study, study and study. They were not allowed to have sleepovers, no television, no extra-curricular activities without her permission. They must get grades no lower than an A in all their subjects except of course for gym and drama. They must always be first in class.

Westerners may see Chua's method bordering on child abuse but to her it's necessary to raise prodigies.

China can boast students who do well in examinations excelling to the top of their classes but China admits that they lack students who are creative and imaginative. Seldom do we hear China producing the likes of Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg who both incidentally never finished college.

Perhaps if one wants to raise robotic children who can regurgitate facts without connecting the dots then Chua's methods is effective. But we want to raise children who are able to adapt to the ever-changing world.

Chua may raise prodigies and scholars but at what expense? At the expense of a happy childhood?

A lot of Chinese mothers in Malaysia and Singapore are like Chua. They would plan their children's day. They would send their children to every possible academic and music courses regardless of whether their children like music or not.

It's this attitude that gives rise to the term "kia-su" which means "wanting everything so as not to be left behind". It's quite a derogatory term but what do these Chinese mothers care? They raise intelligent children.

I wonder if the reason that these Chinese mothers raise their children to be intelligent is because they want their children to be able to survive in the world or is it to bask in the reflected glory when their children are recognized as child prodigies?

Perhaps it's both. Having come from a background where hard work is necessary to get ahead, they would want their children to learn about hard work and the value of a good education. And when they succeed in raising such children, they would undeniably be crowned Mother of the Year.