I read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in order to get some background on “tiger mothers” for my English paper, which was about stereotypes and discrimination. I remember the huge backlash Amy Chua’s book caused when it was first published, even though I was only 12. Chua ended up on the cover of Time magazine, and Western families began condemning the Chinese way of upbringing children. Chua’s book ultimately caused the term “tiger mother” to be associated with Chinese parents in a negative way.
Of course, being Chinese myself, I suppose I had personal background regarding tiger mothers. But my parents were relatively chill, so when the claim that Chinese parents are ridiculously strict blew up, I didn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about, and where it came from.
Now that I read Chua’s Battle Hymn, I understand.
In Battle Hymn, Chua describes in full detail how she raised her two children, Sophia and Lulu. When I started reading it, I was able to relate completely with what Chua was saying; a lot of the things that she taught and said to her children were the same things that my mom taught and said to me. A lot of the stories she told were scarily close to ones that my own mom told me.
However when I kept reading how Chua continued to force her children to play violin and piano and enforce ridiculous rules (like no sleepovers), I realized why her audience thought Chua was cruel. Even I thought she was unnecessarily cruel. I think Chua very much took what she thought was “authentic Chinese parenting” to the next level.
Although I do not agree with how Chua raised her children, I do think that it was a well-written book that everyone should read. It brings to light to the motives that drive a different type of parenting. Because of this, I would give Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother an 8 out of 10.
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