Interesting! Madame Liu Yandong, State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China and the highest-ranking woman in the Chinese government, paid a visit to MIT, where I work, Wednesday, April 13 (2011). I attended her talk, given as part of the China Forum, and was very pleased to hear her mention parenting. You can read the whole press release at the link below.* This is an excerpt:
She said that Chinese students today deal with too much pressure, both from home and school, and referenced author Amy Chua’s polarizing book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in illustrating a typical strict Chinese upbringing. “In China, parents admire the American way, and want a freer environment for their children,” Liu said. “A marriage between the U.S. and China would create the best educational system in the world.”
I find it interesting, and important, that she acknowledges that different parenting styles have complementary strengths. Parenting educators know that there is no single style of parenting – or set of parenting strategies – that works with every child, or even works every time with the same child. There is a lot of work to be done to bring parenting education issues to wider attention and I thank Madame Liu for her comment.
*Madame Liu’s visit to MIT: http://j.mp/h7mr3L