Essay 2.1

Academic Writing 2.1

Courtney Roome

Rebuttal Argument

Amy Chua, the author of the article Why Chinese Mothers are Superior, states that, “Chinese parents believe that they know what is best for their children and therefore override all of their children’s own desires and preferences. “  It should every child’s liberty to be able to explore and develop many talents, desires, and aspirations.  With parents fully controlling children’s actions, thought, and motives, children are left in the dark, and especially in future outcomes; not being able to think for his or herself and develop the social skills that he or she needs in life.  Without the development of social skills, children can grow up to be depressed, lonely, and have difficulty maintaining relationships.

 It is the Chinese parent’s assumption that they know what is best for their children, and controlling every aspect of their life is going to impact them negatively in the future.  Chua however does acknowledge that people of different generations, ethic groups, and races can all could have a wide variety of different parenting techniques.  However, she continues throughout the article to use the terms “Chinese parents” and “Western parents,” seemingly grouping all individuals as one type of parent.  Parenting is very individualized and therefore often hard to critique unless there is a key absence of development.

Chua displays an authoritarian role towards her children, she is very demanding and controlling, and sticks to her rules and orders.  This kind of parenting however also can have a poor up bringing for adolescence if not taught the proper social skills they need to flourish in life.  Chua neglects to have her children involved in any social activities as she states, “Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do: attend a sleepover, have a playdate, be in a school play, complain about not being in a school play, watch TV or play computer games, choose their own extracurricular activities, and get any grade less than an A.” By withholding children from activities, and hobbies such as these, children do not learn how to socialize with their peers throughout their adolescent ages and gain the competence they need to succeed.  According to Angela Wiley, author of the article, Importance of Teaching Social Skills to Children, “Children don’t need to be the most popular in their class, but they do need good social skills.  Being sociable helps us with resilience.  Children who are constantly rejected by peers are lonely and have lower self-esteem.” 

In the concluding paragraph, Chua summarizes that Western parents are more encouraging and supporting in their children’s decisions, as Chinese parents look to show off the greatest of their abilities by piling on work and preparing them for the future.  As both parenting can be beneficial towards children, parents can not neglect the fact they are raising children to be able to stand on their own two feet in the end.  

According to the Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development, “This research has shown that controlling parent interactional styles are related to negative social outcomes for children and that warm interactional styles are related to positive social outcomes.  Recent studies found that children of mothers who interact more positively or are more responsive and engaging with their children were more socially accepted by peers.”  Therefore this is restating the fact that over-controlling parents will raise children that are less socially skilled and accepted by peers.  It is part of our survival to be able to interact and communicate with others, and withholding that development will only hurt the child in the end. 

Article: Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

References

Smith, Peter K, and Craig H Hart. "Parent-child interaction and the parent-child relationship."

     Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development: n. pag. Google Books. Web. 30 Feb. 2011.

     <http://books.google.com/

     books?hl=en&lr=&id=2HbX6Zz8fzoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA156&dq=chinese+control+parenting+poor+social+skills&ots=j

     rLjyJkAKz&sig=7QVMPkZ9xh1NXIQfllncmwPfolE#v=onepage&q&f=false>.

Wiley, Angela. Parenting 247. N.p., 19 Apr. 2007. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://parenting247.org/ 

     article.cfm?ContentID=1241&AgeGroup=3>.