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Jenna Haas
English 101H CRN 83311
Professor McKeever
27 October 2015
Word Count: 565
Evaluating The Tiger Mom
Sometimes it is actually proves the best thing possible to push the limits of what the
psyche thinks capable because then a person is able to be better and more prepared than one
thought they could be. Amy Chua is someone who does just that with her children through her
Tiger Mom parenting style. Along with being a Yale law professor, and an author, she and her
husband, Jed Rubenfeld, a fellow professor, have two daughters, Sophia and Louisa. A Tiger
Mom is a parent who is slightly overly controlling every aspect of her childs life. In addition,
the Tiger Mom method can be a successful way of parenting because it makes the child reach his
or her full potential and then exceed it.
The acadamian is an authority on the subject of parenting having observed, researched,
and compared a variety of parenting styles. At present, I am undecided as to whether I agree or
disagree with Chua's method. While I slightly disagree with her parenting method, I can't help
but notice the accomplishments of the Chinese in educating a highly competitive work force.
Today, students face a world of competition, and as such, it requires one go the extra mile to
succeed. Success does not come easily. The "Tiger Mom" approach demonstrates its ability to
assist children to maximize their talents and be prepared to enter the challenging work world.
Another reason is that her parenting style did not destroy her children, and in fact in some ways

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it worked wonders. Her children, Sophia and Louisa, are 15 and 18 and are very successful and
happy.
Subsequent to reading about logical fallacies and the Tiger Mom, I have come to the
conclusion that Chua is not guilty of them. Her position at Yale is foundational to promotion and
advancing her "Tiger Mom" approach. Whether Chinese mothers are superior to Western
mothers in guiding their children to fulfillment is still up for debate. Chua provides a persuasive
argument for her position, but children learn differently and, as such, her method may not be
appropriate for some. Ultimately, it depends on how the child reacts to the parenting style.
The main propaganda technique she uses is herself as a testimonial since she is a
successful professor at Yale promoting the Tiger Mom parenting method. She also promotes the
fact that she has raised two children and that she has used this method herself. She also makes
somewhat hasty generalizations when it comes to how western parents raise their kids. Probably
the most self-insightful thing to come from reading about the Tiger Mom is the fact that I am a
hard worker and my mom is not a "Tiger Mom". She believes in me and encourages me to do
well but I put the pressure on myself to succeed. I feel constantly indebted to her because of what
shes been through and just the fact that she adopted me and loves me even though Im not her
kid by blood. I guess in a way that even though I am not raised by a Chinese mother, I still retain
some attributes and personality traits common with my Chinese American ethnicity. In
conclusion, I believe that every parent wants whats best for their child, but their parenting styles
differ and Amy Chuas Tiger Mom approach is just another one of those styles with differing
results and consequences.