耶魯大學法學院華裔教授蔡美兒的新書《虎媽戰歌》在被美國媒體摘錄后，立即成為中西方媒體熱議的話題，“虎媽”蔡美兒提出的“中國式”嚴苛教子方法也引發了巨大爭議。蔡美兒是華裔第二代美國移民，書中介紹了她如何秉承“中國媽媽”的教育方式，嚴苛地要求兩個女兒并使其獲得成功的經歷，并列出了十大“不準”家規，當女兒們沒有按照要求去做時，她會直接罵她們“垃圾”，甚至不準吃飯、上廁所。

“虎媽”的另類教育方法引起社會巨大反響，支持者認為，為了讓孩子將來躋身成功人士之列，就應該對他們“狠”一點。而反對方除了質疑蔡美兒有虐待兒童之嫌外，也指出“虎媽”的做法實際上是在抹殺孩子的個性和自由天性。

Amy Chua watches her daughter Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld practice playing piano in her home in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, on Dec 20.(Agencies)

A new book written by a self-described Chinese descent on her super-strict parenting - "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" has raised media storm and fierce debates in the US.

Amy Chua is a Yale Law School professor and the mother of two teenage girls. She is the daughter of Filipino immigrants of Chinese descent. Her book is described by AP as a "new memoir of badass parenting, Chinese style."

Chua writes that her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to attend a sleep-over, be in a school play, watch TV or play computer games. They couldn't choose their own extracurricular activities or get any grade less than an A. They had to play piano or violin - and no other musical instruments.

Chua writes that she was called "garbage" by her father after being disrespectful to her mother - and that she, in turn, once called her own daughter garbage.

She writes that if a Chinese child gets a B - which she says "would never happen" - there would be "a screaming, hair-tearing explosion." She describes making her 7-year-old play a piano piece perfectly - yelling and not letting her leave the bench even to use the bathroom - until it was.

Alison Lo, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Washington's Bothell campus, has read about Chua's book. Lo, who grew up in Hong Kong and came to the United States to earn her doctoral degree at Duke University, sees the parenting debate from both sides.

"I don't think Amy is advocating a best practice of parenting style, or that success and achievements are critical yardsticks of a good life," Lo said in an interview with Julie Muhlstein, a columnist with the US-based Heraldnet.com.

"But I can imagine how strong her daughters' college applications are going to be," Lo continued.

"For many parents whose dreams are seeing their kids graduating from a competitive university, Amy is sharing with the readers that it is achievable by persistent, dedicated parental guidance," Lo said. "In that sense, a young adult's giftedness can be born, or made."

In interviews since The Wall Street Journal excerpts were published, Chua has countered some harsh impressions left by her words, while not backing away from her basic recipes for success. She told ABC News Sunday that "My book is a memoir, not a parenting book." In the AP article, she allowed that her younger daughter will celebrate her 15th birthday with a sleep-over.

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(CRIEnglish)

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）