Book Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

The first book I decided to read after putting my reading habit on a hiatus was Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. This was the book I had been aiming for when my dad told me about it. He said this book caused a lot of controversies as it touches some sensitive parenting issues. Let me give you a review about it. I finished it within THREE days (one of my fastest record). 

I think people who are most well-suited to read this book are MOTHERS with kids. Amy raised her daughters the very Chinese way (or at least that's what she thinks). She thought that there is a major distinctive difference in the parenting methods between Western and Chinese parents. Among the few examples that she highlighted include:

1. Chinese parents impose high expectations on their children - it is almost an unforgivable demeanor to get A-minus in your exam. If a child ever achieves anything below an A, the only reason this could happen is because he/she did not study hard enough. Westerners are totally different - they reward their kids even when they got B. 

2. Chinese parents often decide what they think are the best for their children. In Amy's case, she wanted her girls to play music instruments and despite people giving differing opinions about what her daughters should learn, she held the ultimate power on which instrument they should play. On the other hand, Western parents will never agree with such enforcement. They think that children should have the freedom to select what they like and blossom through their personal interest. 

However, Amy did come to a transitional period when she was having too many clashes with her second daughter, Lulu (real name Louisa). She came to realize that forcing wasn't the only resort to making her daughters successful. Probably I am yet to be a mother hence I couldn't feel Amy as deeply as some mothers could. But I do admire her perseverance and determination to shower her daughters with such a love - through hard and difficult ways - she didn't even mind if her daughters hated her, she just wanted the best for them. 

This book also reflects the extent that mothers would sacrifice for their children's goodness and future. It somehow strikes me that Amy isn't actually an extraordinary mother - she just did what she thought was best for her children and every mother lives by this rule. 

Ratings: 4.3/5