Many American moms would feel that the Tiger moms are controlling and demanding and the only thing that matters to them is their child’s excellence at school and in life. Many moms would wonder how Chinese produce math whizzes and music prodigies.  That is because the parenting style of Westerners and Chinese is very different.

Amy Chua, in her book ‘Battle Hymn of Tiger moms’, talks about parenting and why Chinese kids or kids whose mom acts like tiger mom excel.

Setting high standards – Chinese moms push their kids towards excellence. They would be disappointed if their child gets an A-. They set high academic standards for their kids and work hard on their kids’ academic performance.

Parenting requires time – Chua in her book says that good parenting requires lot of time. Mothers need to be involved in their child’s work whether is it helping them in homework or practicing piano with them. A kid needs personal attention and time. The number of uninvolved Chinese parents is very less as compared to Americans. Chua also feels that Chinese moms can sacrifice anything to make their children excel and love their kids more than American moms.

Both Chinese and American moms have different ways of showing their love because of the cultural differences. Even if a Chinese mother is strict, that’s only because she wants only the best for her child. Kids also know they are loved even when their parents are strict. On the other hand American mothers have different approach. They like their kids to be more independent and make their own decisions. Being an authoritarian parent may not seem to be appropriate to many as they fear children will be rebellious. But even rules and strictness are an act of love and maybe the tough-love parenting style can be adopted by the Westerners to raise their kids.