Quotes from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Do you know what a foreign accent is? It's a sign of bravery.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Nothing is fun until you're good at it.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“As a purely mathematical fact, people who sleep less live more.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Every day that you don't practice is a day you're getting worse.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Western parents worry a lot about their children's self-esteem. But as a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child's self-esteem is to let them give up. On the flip side, there's nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn't.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“There are all kinds of psychological disorders in the West that don't exist in Asia.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“But just because you love something, I added to myself, doesn't mean you'll ever be great. Not if you don't work. Most people stink at the things they love.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Everything I've ever done that's valuable is something I was afraid to try.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“The fact is that Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable-even legally actionable-to Westerners. Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, "Hey fatty-lose some weight." By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue, talking in terms of "health" and never ever mentioning the f-word, and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self image.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Western parents try to respect their children’s individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a nurturing environment. By contrast, the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they’re capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“The truth is I'm not good at enjoying life.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Be modest, be humble, be simple.Make sure you come in first so that you have something to be humble about.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Unlike Western parents, reminding my child of Lord Voldemort didn't bother me.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. The Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it.
pg 29”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Chinese parents believe that their kids owe them everything.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Once when I was young-maybe more than once-when I was extremely disrespectful to my mother, my father angrily called me "garbage" in our native Hokkien dialect. It worked really well. I felt terrible and deeply ashamed of what I had done. But it didn't damage my self esteem or anything like that. I knew exactly how highly he thought of me. I didn't actually think I was worthless or feel like a piece of garbage.
As an adult, I once did the same thing to Sophie, calling her garbage in English when she acted extremely disrespectful toward me. When I mentioned I had done this at a dinner party, I was immediately ostracized. One guest named Marcy got so upset she broke down in tears and had to leave early. My friend Susan, the host, tried to rehabilitate me with the remaining guests.
"Oh dear, it's just a misunderstanding. Amy was speaking metaphorically-right, Amy? you didn't actually call Sophie 'garbage.'"
"Um, yes I did. But it's all in the context," I tried to explain. "It's a Chinese immigrant thing.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Never complain or make excuses. If something seems unfair, just prove yourself by working twice as hard and being twice as good.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“One of my greatest fears is family decline.There’s an old Chinese saying that “prosperity can never last for three generations.” I’ll bet that if someone with empirical skills conducted a longitudinal survey about intergenerational performance, they’d find a remarkably common pattern among Chinese immigrants fortunate enough to have come to the United States as graduate students or skilled workers over the last fifty years. The pattern would go something like this: • The immigrant generation (like my parents) is the hardest-working. Many will have started off in the United States almost penniless, but they will work nonstop until they become successful engineers, scientists, doctors, academics, or businesspeople. As parents, they will be extremely strict and rabidly thrifty. (“Don’t throw out those leftovers! Why are you using so much dishwasher liquid?You don’t need a beauty salon—I can cut your hair even nicer.”) They will invest in real estate. They will not drink much. Everything they do and earn will go toward their children’s education and future. • The next generation (mine), the first to be born in America, will typically be high-achieving. They will usually play the piano and/or violin.They will attend an Ivy League or Top Ten university. They will tend to be professionals—lawyers, doctors, bankers, television anchors—and surpass their parents in income, but that’s partly because they started off with more money and because their parents invested so much in them. They will be less frugal than their parents. They will enjoy cocktails. If they are female, they will often marry a white person. Whether male or female, they will not be as strict with their children as their parents were with them. • The next generation (Sophia and Lulu’s) is the one I spend nights lying awake worrying about. Because of the hard work of their parents and grandparents, this generation will be born into the great comforts of the upper middle class. Even as children they will own many hardcover books (an almost criminal luxury from the point of view of immigrant parents). They will have wealthy friends who get paid for B-pluses.They may or may not attend private schools, but in either case they will expect expensive, brand-name clothes. Finally and most problematically, they will feel that they have individual rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and therefore be much more likely to disobey their parents and ignore career advice. In short, all factors point to this generation”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“That’s why I liked the Suzuki method of teaching piano. There are seven books, and everybody has to start with Book One. Each book includes ten to fifteen songs, and you have to go in order. Kids who practice hard get assigned new songs each week, whereas kids who don’t practice get stuck on the same song for weeks, even months, and sometimes just quit because they’re bored out of their minds.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery. Those are people who crossed an ocean to come to this country.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“And that’s how I outsmarted myself, changing our lives forever.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it[...] Tenacious practice, practice, practice is crucial for excellence; rote repetition is underrated in America. Once a child starts to excel at something—whether it's math, piano, pitching or ballet—he or she gets praise, admiration and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not-fun activity fun.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“She refused. I was mortified. Unjustified as Mrs. Kazinczy may have been, she was still a teacher, an authority figure, and one of first things Chinese people learn is that you must respect authority. No matter what, you don’t talk back to your parents, teachers, elders. In the end, I had to go back to the room alone, apologizing profusely and explaining (falsely) that Lulu was angry with me. I then made Sophia—who wasn’t crazy about Mrs. Kazinczy either and who wasn’t even a violinist—take the rest of the lesson, ostensibly getting tips about playing as a duo.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“Other studies indicate that compared to Western parents, Chinese parents spend approximately ten times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams. This”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

“What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it.”
― Amy Chua, quote from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

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