Amy Chua - Strict Parenting Style

This photo is courtesy from www.klue.com.my. Amy Chua, infamous Yale Law Professor is being critiqued when she openly shared her strict parenting style in a book and also published in Wall Street Journal recently. In today's Sunday Times Paper (Singapore), she and her strict parenting styles were discussed over a spread of few pages. She has 2 teenage daughters, Sophia and Louisa.

It also shown some Singapore parents residing in US disagree with her parenting style. Her article 'Why Chinese Mothers are Superior' in Wall Street Journal shocked a lot of parents, even myself. My 4 and 5 years old daughters are watching TV and playing computer games 'moderately'. I wont say with total freedom as control and balance has to be drawn down by the parents. Louisa and Sophia were prohibited from watching TV and playing computer games altogether!

Coming from her neighbouring country and a mother myself, i personally dont agree with her parenting style. Tracing history, no doubt that most Chinese parents are more strict when comes to academic excellence, this was proven also for the Gen X and late Baby Boomers whereby their parents were Baby Boomers who suffered a lot of hardships and given a choice, want the better lifestyle for their children. Do we need to take the extreme options as what Amy Chua has implemented?

Trying to see things from her point of view, her actions mostly is influenced by her own upbringing and perceptions to importance of education and music in life. But is that all to the lives of our most precious next generation? ONLY music and education matters?

What about teaching them moral and social values, basic living skills such as respect and humility? Does perfoming at Carnegie Hall really matters so much for a teenage girl? Or it is more to make her Mom/Dad happy and be done with it?

Parenting is not simple and is a complex skill altogether. As everyone has freedom and options to choose what is best to their children, it is important to strike a balance and 'ask' whether the kids are enjoying the 'masterpiece' drilling session ie music, art classes, sports and the list go on. But then, without parents to expose and provide the opportunity to the kids to experience the different skills and activities, the kids will never find their talent/passion, i mean most of them.

So, rather than criticising Amy Chua for her extreme parenting skills, please observe our own decisions, are we on right track as positive parenting? hmm.. it is tricky...