Chinese Moms

If you haven't, yet, you should read the article on the Wall Street Journal about Chinese mothers; it's written by a Chinese mother, Amy Chua, who is a professor at Yale Law School.

Essentially, it talks about her approach to disciplining and raising her two daughters, instilling certain values in them. Personally, I think she's over the top. If you look at the list of the things her daughters CAN'T do, they include: 1) no going to sleepovers 2) no participating in school plays 3) not complaining about not being in the school plays 4) never being allowed to get lower than an A on anything...and the list really does go on and on.

What I was more interested in was the fundamental differences between "Chinese" or Asian cultures and Western cultures is that Asian moms aren't afraid to tell their kids the truth. These days, people in the U.S. are all about being sensitive to people's feelings. You NEVER tell someone they're fat, even though they may be overweight and you're just looking out for them. People need to hear the truth. And you know what? THE TRUTH HURTS.

A lot of Western parents are okay with B+'s, B's, and B-'s. I know that was never the case at my house; no B's allowed - really. It really instills this idea that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. Like Professor Chua says, you don't start to like something until you're good at it. So, instead of allowing your kids to be complacent and accept mediocrity, sometimes you have to push your kids a little to help them to understand that value of hard work.

You have to find a balance.