Amy Chua took the world by storm with her bestselling book entitled “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” But, it seemed that most people misunderstood where she was going with it.
Anyone can be a tiger mom – and Chua certainly details the criteria for such. However, many readers tended to harp on her “unconventional” parenting methods (that even she mentioned did not always work) instead of reading the book and seeing it as one mother’s ever-evolving and amazing journey into parenting.
Chua is different than most and similar in many uncanny ways to familial matriarchs coast-to-coast and around the world. Her savvy for motherhood is both refreshing and a bit unnerving. Sure, to the conventional American mind, she may have seemed to be a bit strict, but to her credit, the stern was the only way that she knew how to instill the tools for success in her children. Do I agree with everything that she did? Not, at all. Do I credit her for her bravery in revealing the intimate details? Absolutely.
No parent is perfect, so why judge Chua for methods that she soon found out were not as effective as she thought when employed on her children?
She was forced to learn that both of her children were completely different and while one child may have been more inclined to obey her rules, the other was simply not as compliant. She didn’t give up. What she did was what every parent should do – she just re-adjusted her parenting style. For Chua, it was learning the art of compromise that made a positive difference in parenting her children.
There are several techniques that Chua employed which made sense when parenting. The one stands out the most is her use of rote repetition. In order for a child of any age to be successful in school, extra curricular activities, or in life in general, repetition is essential. Continuously doing the same action over and over again will yield positive results. Regardless if that action is through the use of flash cards, singing, dancing or practicing a sport, eventually it will become second nature to a child which will bring about the results that parents so desire. This is how the human brain works.
Parents learn something new everyday as do children. Chua finally came to accept this and began to learn about herself as parent from the actions and re-actions of her children. Everyone makes mistakes – no parent is perfect but it is through those mistakes that parents become better parents.
Decoding the Tiger Mom
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