'Tiger Mother' On Colbert Report: "I Do Not Believe That Chinese Mothers Are Superior"

Stephen Colbert interviewed Amy Chua, Yale professor and "Battle Hymns of the Tiger Mother" author, on last night's Colbert Report.

Chua appeared both defensive and uncomfortable during the interview, stating that the America's reaction to the book has been "a little surprising."

She said, "the book is a memoir. It's supposed to be funny. It's a self-parody." She doesn't understand how Americans could believe she is claiming to be a better mother than other American mothers when it is printed on the cover that she was "humbled by a 13-year-old."

Chua went on the explain that "anyone can be a Chinese mother." She believes that many of the values that Chinese parents cherish are already "fundamental American values championed by our founding fathers."

When you start with a Wall Street Journal article with the title, "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior," that might explain a misconception or two.

You can watch Colbert give Chua's introduction (hilarious), as well as the full interview below.

WATCH COLBERT'S INTRO TO AMY CHUA:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Controversy
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> Video Archive

WATCH COLBERT'S INTERVIEW WITH AMY CHUA:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Amy Chua
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> Video Archive

Comments

[MamacitaOfLove]

12:55 AM on 02/01/2011

Back. Pedal.

[Cynthia Lim]

09:39 PM on 01/30/2011

The book could very well be Chua's self-assessment of her parenting style. Instead of doing it in private, she chose to do it in public by writing a memoir.

Now, when one's children are barely out of high school, writing a memoir extolling the virtues of a particular way of parenting can have very serious consequences for the author's children. There is now the expectation for the children to be successful according to the parent's definition of success, and that expectation is no longer coming from the parent alone, but from the readers as well.

People who have read the book will be watching the children closely to determine if the suggested parenting method has indeed been effective or not. For example, will her eldest daughter be offered admissions by Ivy League colleges?

Whether they like it or not, Chua's daughters now have the burden of either proving their mother right in how she chose to raise them, or of demonstrating that her extreme methods did not do them any lasting harm.

Either way, it must be no picnic being Amy Chua's daughters.

www.the goodchinesemother.wordpress.com

[Bellanova]

04:12 PM on 01/30/2011

Chua is as good at backpedaling as she is at mothering.

[Clare53]

09:30 PM on 01/30/2011

Exactly.

[TresJolie7]

10:01 PM on 01/29/2011

The hate towards this chick is so over-the-top it's ridiculous. Get over yourselves!

[Matt Fenton]

06:31 PM on 01/29/2011

I personally do not agree with what I have seen as Ms. Chua's parenting method, but she doesn't seem abusive. My children excel in school and are fun, great, individuals while making their own decisions from an early age, having had multiple sleep-overs, mostly "getting their way" and never being grounded. She certainly has the right to raise her children that way and the children I have seen raised similarly seem to generally do well (if showing much stress). I do not see it as particularly immigrant-American or "Chinese"--CBS Sunday Morning had a great interview with mothers in China . My question is why would I want to read this non-how-to, memoir. Nothing in this interview or others seem to actually make me think the book is funny or interesting.

[Box500]

04:33 PM on 01/29/2011

Tiger Mother, an interesting label for Child Abuser?

[Leviathan21]

05:24 AM on 01/29/2011

Yep, I agree that all of this uproar over Tiger Mother is basically just masked anxiety. People are criticizing Amy Chua because they know that millions of mothers just like her are raising children who will be competing with their children for jobs, university places, research grants, etc, etc.

[FackinL]

03:05 AM on 01/29/2011

TMILF

[kansasmagic]

01:41 AM on 01/29/2011

It's part of Colbert's shtick to make his guests feel "defensive and uncomfortable" - and I'm sure that his guests know pretty well what they are in for. That's a weak effort to criticize Chua.

[TomHunter]

08:51 PM on 01/28/2011

When parents make all the decisions for their children, the kids don't learn how to make their own decisions.
The American way is to allow children to self direct from a young age. Yes, some of them wander off and play video games for 5 hours. Some, then, get bored with that and establish other interests. Those children who get bored playing video games then develop their own interests and in the process, discover how to lead themselves.
Amy Chua merely does not trust her children to be smart enough to find their own way. And if they don't start to practice self direction now, when?

[Hansy Peguero]

10:25 AM on 01/29/2011

Children also need guidance. What you are saying makes no sense. Letting children play video games for 5 hours seems like good parenting to you??

[JoJoRae]

12:36 PM on 01/29/2011

No it's not but telling them they are garbage, denying food, water and bathroom breaks until they play perfectly is not either.

[TomHunter]

09:26 AM on 01/31/2011

Not what I said at all. My point is that children need to learn to lead themselves. That's how great leaders, inventors and entrepreneurs are created. Sure, if you force every decision on your kids they will most likely end up safe--but they will never be leaders or creative. Creativity involves taking risks.

[history repeats]

12:44 AM on 01/31/2011

what!? do you have children? if you do id be surprised. americans allow children to self direct from a young age? by "self direct" do you mean cooking cleaning and doing their laundry for them? do you mean buying them a video game system with a television to have in their room? you really seem to have no clue what youre talking about.

[TomHunter]

07:09 PM on 02/01/2011

Yes, I have children. I allow them to build tree forts, and to pull the couch cushions off the couch and build forts with sheets. I allow them to create and that involves tolerating messes. I let them decide what they are interested in. That does not mean I ignore them and allow them to experiment with kitchen knives. Obviously I supervise.
Allow me another try to explain. It seems to me the Tiger Mother system produces children who cannot choose for themselves what they want to do. They wait for Mommy to tell them what to do. That approach does not produce generals, leaders, artists or entrepreneurs. It produces little uncreative drones who become good, docile employees in somebody else's company. Your Tiger Mother approach is tailor made to eliminate creativity.
Full disclosure, that is how I was raised. I grew up building things constantly. Now, I work in Manhattan as a sr. software engineer. Aside from my technical career, I write novels and you can read my most recent one here: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/leningrad I also am an oil painter. My childhood was filled with rockets I designed, toys that I myself created and constant curiosity. I read all of science before I was 14. I had read all the fundamental treatises.
If you want a little Einstein, you need to give the child the freedom to think independently. I don't see a lot of artists coming out of China...

[emmybee]

12:36 PM on 01/28/2011

I believe you can raise successful children in a loving and kind way. I think that there are too many parents who allow the children rule the roost and one can see that in the way children behave out in the world and at school.

What makes me uncomfortable with Chua is her way of raising her children was abusive. The kids by all accounts were extremely successful but the ends doesn't justify the means. I understand that she points out that her younger child's reaction made her reevaluate her methods. What I am afraid of, is that people who are desperate to raise super kids will miss that message and try to become tiger parents. And don't we have enough screwed up kids to deal with?

Let's use this dialog to start talking about what parents can do to raise happy, healthy, successful kids through love instead of abuse.

[TomHunter]

09:47 PM on 02/01/2011

I applaud your approach to parenting. I too hate the parents of children who misbehave in public.
I think it certainly must be possible to encourage curiosity while reining it from becoming snottiness.

[emmybee]

01:45 AM on 02/02/2011

Thanks!

I know sometimes parents have special children who have special difficulties but a lot of naughty children are just spoiled and I think parents are too lazy to take care of the situation or they tune their children out and then the rest of us have to listen to their kids crying and whining.

[SaburoHakaida]

12:12 PM on 01/28/2011

Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that this book wasn't a how-to book on how to raise your children?

ARRGH! I'VE BEEN RIPPED OFF! I'm gonna take this book back and scoff at Amy Chua. That's the last time I believe anything from a Tiger Mother.

[JStading]

11:49 AM on 01/28/2011

I'm not saying that it's unwise to promote academic success - but labeling grades as the be all end all crushes creativity and rewards conformity.  America and western culture is built on the backs of people who failed as young people but who, due to their experience with failure and adversity, prevailed and pushed to great success.  Lincoln, Einstein, Justice Thomas are just a few of the people who suffered tremendous losses early in their lives only to turn out to be tremendous successes.  Beating kids into conformity makes for good followers but really doesn't do too much for leadership quality. But then again, the Chinese culture doesn't seem to reward people who fight conformity....

[Amber Troska]

10:11 AM on 01/28/2011

To be fair, Ms. Chua didn't title the article mentioned. A bunch of out-of-context extracts were thrown together and given a title by the WSJ. So, for many people who have based their criticism on the article and not on the book, it will be difficult to make a (fair) judgment. A memoir may give you an idea of a person's character, but like she said, it wasn't a how-to book, just like Mommie Dearest wasn't an instruction manual on Hollywood parenting. And I don't think she looked any more uncomfortable than anyone else who does not regularly appear on television and is interviewed by someone playing an exaggerated character.

[iagodeotto]

04:20 AM on 01/28/2011

I wonder,k does Amy Chua have mommy issues?