In her article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” Amy Chua asserted that children raised by Chinese mothers are more successful than children that are raised by Western mothers. Chau claimed that the strict and direct nature of the Chinese parenting style allows their children to have excellence in everything that they do. She noted there are many parenting studies that showed measurable differences between Western and Chinese immigrant mothers. In particular, she described one that consisted of 50 Western mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers which revealed a majority of Western mothers believed that emphasizing academic success was not good for children, and that Chinese mothers consider the academic success of their children a direct consequence of their good parenting and that any failures were a result of parents not “doing their job” (Chau, A. 2011). Chua also stated that Chinese mothers spend ten times longer working with their children on academic activities compared to Western mothers, and noted that Western children are more likely to be involved in sports.
According to the Chau, there are three differences between Western and Chinese views on parenting. First, Western parents are overly concerned about their child’s self-esteem and are constantly trying to comfort their children, whereas Chinese parents presume their children are strong enough to take criticism for anything less than perfection. Second, Western parents believe it is their responsibility as a parent to provide and care for their children. In contrast, Chinese parents consider their children are forever indebted to them for all that they have done to make them succeed. Third, Western parents provide guidance and support and believe their children should be allowed to make their own choices. Chinese parents are certain that they know what is best and do not allow their