Quotes from Amy Chua

In a related context, Nigerian American novelist Teju Cole once tweeted, "The White Savior Industrial Complex is not about justice. It is about having a big emotional experience that validates privilege.

The truth is that white Americans often hold their biggest disdain for other white Americans—the ones on the opposite side of the cultural divide.

The peril we face today is not only that America might fail to live up to its promise, but that Americans might stop believing in that promise or the need to fight for it. The increasing belief on the left that this promise was always a lie, or on the right that it has always been true and has already been achieved, are two sides of the same coin.

Coastal elites" have become a kind of market-dominant minority from the point of view of America's heartland, and, as we've seen all over the developing world, market-dominant minorities invariably end up producing democratic backlash.

I can't tell you how many Asian kids I have met who, while acknowledging how oppressively strict and brutally demanding their parents were, happily describe themselves as devoted to their parents and unbelievably grateful to them, seemingly without a trace of bitterness or resentment.

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.

A Western upbringing tends to stress questioning authority, which is always asking why, why, why.

My children grew up with one Western parent. My husband doesn't believe in raising his voice with the kids and we don't spank. They were really raised in a half-Asian family.

To be honest, I know that a lot of Asian parents are secretly shocked and horrified by many aspects of Western parenting.

You know, parenting is so personal. And we're all afraid that we didn't quite get it right. And it feels like the stakes are so high. By we - what if we made a mistake?

I think the biggest difference is that I've noticed Western parents seem much more concerned about their children's psyches, their self-esteem, whereas tough immigrant parents assume strength rather than fragility in their children and therefore behave completely differently.

For my senior prom, my father finally said I could go - as long as I was home by 9 P.M.! That was around the time that most people were heading out. When I was little I was so mad at them all the time. 'Why can't I do this?' 'Why are there so many rules?' But looking back now, my parents gave me the foundation to have so many choices in life.

When I was little, my parents really only wanted me to be a scientist or a doctor; they had never even heard of law school. I think even these days if you were to tell your mother you want to be a fashion designer, or an artist or a writer, a lot of Asian parents would be alarmed because they don't think that's a secure career.

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

I do play tennis, but I don't really like competition. I'm supposed to be so intense, but I hate competition.

Some people don't need parental commitment, they will still come out great, but for others, parents can be critical in providing moral and academic guidance.

China cannot pull in the best and brightest from all over the world. It's an ethnically defined nation, the opposite of an immigrant nation. You don't see a lot of American engineers trying to be Chinese citizens.

I was the one that in a very overconfident immigrant way thought I knew exactly how to raise my kids. My husband was much more typical. He had a lot of anxiety; he didn't think he knew all the right choices. And, I was the one willing to put in the hours.

We all want to do the right thing for our children. We all don't know what that is and we all - you know, you won't know until the future.

Do you know what a foreign accent is? It's a sign of bravery.

Nothing is fun until you're good at it.

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.

As a purely mathematical fact, people who sleep less live more.

Every day that you don't practice is a day you're getting worse.