Amy Chua Quotes & Sayings (Page 5)

“Don't assume your child is weak. If you, the parent, assume that they can't take anymore, what kind of signal are you sending them?”

“My youngest sister, Cindy, has Down syndrome, and I remember my mother spending hours and hours with her, teaching her to tie her shoelaces on her own, drilling multiplication tables with Cindy, practicing piano every day with her. No one expected Cindy to get a Ph.D.! But my mom wanted her to be the best she could be, within her limits.”

“I really feel that most things are difficult at the beginning and they become fun, something you love, only after you've worked at them. Making children do something hard can, in the long run, be a great parental service.”

“Both of my girls have very high self-esteem because they were both able to master certain things; I should think that's good for their confidence.”

“I'm willing to be different than other parents and go against the mainstream.”

“Questioning authority is, I think, a great thing to instill in children. I just didn't have enough of that when I was little.”

“Some people are just self-motivated - my husband was. I also believe there are many children for whom parental involvement is key.”

“You know, I think it's so ironic that we're calling hard work, striving for excellence, don't blame others, you know, don't give up, that we're calling these, quote, 'Chinese values,' 'cause I always thought of them as American values.”

“Parenting is the hardest thing I have ever done. I tried to find the balance between the strict, traditional Chinese way I was raised, which I think can be too harsh, and what I see as a tendency in the West to be too permissive and indulgent. If I could do it all again, I would, with some adjustments.”

“The Chinese model calls for giving your kids very little choice - and I've come to see that you can go too far with that. On the other hand, I also believe that Western parents sometimes give their young kids too much choice.”