wall street journal, with poll: Are stereotypical Chinese mothers superior or too strict?

Posted on Tue, Jan 11, 2011 : 8:30 a.m.

Amy Chua in 2007 | Photo from Wikimedia Commons

"Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," a piece in the Wall Street Journal by Amy Chua, a Yale Law professor and author of new book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," is stirring online debate and attracting thousands of comments on the WSJ site.

Chua strikes all kinds of parenting nerves, asserting, "What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences." Chua describes techniques including yelling, shaming and "giving up anything" for their children's success. By contrast, she suggests, Western parents "constantly try to reassure their children about how good they are notwithstanding a mediocre performance on a test or at a recital."

Read the full WSJ article on Why Chinese Mothers are Superior, and then tell us what you think:

poll by twiigs.com