Thoughts on Tiger Mother

I finished reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua a few days ago. You can check out my reaction to the first few chapters here. As I continued reading, I jotted down the thoughts and questions that popped into my head. Random.

• You can't force respect; you earn it.
• Braggart.
• Seems like she feels she must prove herself to Western mothers.
• Seems to think she is superior to Western mothers.
• Am I critical of Chua because I do not parent the way she does, but think maybe I should?
• Am I critical because I'm insecure about my parenting skills?
• Is this entire book about Chua's insecurities over her parenting skills?
• What if I AM her? Is she some distorted reflection of myself? Is that why I criticize her?
• Admire her tenancity and focs.
• How did she invest this much time and energy into ther children? I'm exhausted all the time, and I don't even really do anything.
• Why would her husband stay with her? She paints him as a wimp.
• Should I sacrifice more for my girls? Should I put them first more than I do?

After closing the book, I decided that Chua is no different than any other mother. She wants what is best for her girls. She has an ideal reality in her head, and she's trying anything and everything to make the ideal real. Her parenting methods are just really, REALLY, foreign to most of us. This is a must read for any mother. Even if you are horrified, disgusted, and embarrased for Chua, the book should make any thinking woman - and we are all thinking women - pause, reflect, ponder, and question.

After all ...

"I don't know how anyone else sees the world, and no one else knows exactly how I see the world! We each see in our own, unique way. There isn't a Right or a Wrong, and that's how it's meant to be."  - Zoomy Chamberlain, The Danger Box by Blue Balliett