I read an interesting article in Time today about differences in traditional Chinese parenting and Western parenting. In a nutshell, it says that the Chinese work their kids extremely hard and are what we would consider to be "overly strict" (just a generalization of course). Western parents are, well, not typically like that. On one hand, the Chinese style is producing mega-smart kids (Shanghai test scores bury the US in every category), and the Chinese economy is roaring, while Western parenting is producing wimps, to put it mildly (again, just generalizing). It is interesting to think of the line between letting kids learn and still enjoy their lives and producing smart kids who may be missing out on a lot of the things that children do as children. I certainly don't know where that line is, but hopefully my wife and I will raise smart kids who know how to have fun.
The book mentioned in the article is Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom by Amy Chua. I haven't read it, but apparently it has evoked some pretty strong responses from people who have.
Yep- she's pretty extreme! As in YIKES extreme. You can google her name and read some articles. I hope to find that line, too. It's very complicated-parenting- that is-
ReplyDeleteI read part of the book. She firmly believes in her style. I'd like to see a Tiger Mom and an Unschooling Mom sit down and have a heart-to-heart with each other. Ha! That would be interesting.
ReplyDelete