Difference and Effects Between Chinese and American Parenting (Essay Sample)

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Difference and effect between Chinese and American parenting
With parenting being one of the stages every parent has to undergo, the methods applied in this role always vary and are highly influenced by culture. For instance, it is a known fact that Chinese parents tend to manipulate children in a bid to form a particular habit. It was noted that inducing guilt and shaming children when they fail to meet a parent’s standards are pretty common in China (Yates p.2). Conversely, American parents tend to apply a different approach whereby children are treated with more gentleness. Actually, Henderson (p.1097) reported that an American parent normally intentionally withholds any disappointment a child may have brought upon them.
These two approaches are different but the same cannot be said of the effects that emanate from them. As puzzling as this may sound, the Americans who handle their kids with gentleness and the Chinese who tend to be somewhat harsh eventually achieve a similar goal. According to Yates (p.3), the Chinese adapt to the culture of shaming and manipulating children and many times the children adapt to the environment. Similarly, the Americans apply their own tactic of encouraging a child even when there is evident disappointment. In both cases, the parents are aiming at the same goal, which is to improve the student, but applying differing tactics.
Worth distinguishing at this point is that manipulative parenting is not similar to authoritarian since the latter tends to motivate a child with fear while the former with challenges. Whereas some have argued that children brought up through authoritarian tend to be well-behaved, Porter (p.543) claims these children tend to be less-resourceful and poor self-image. The American parent hardly uses this approach but some Chinese parents have applied. Instead, it is recommended that parents either apply the authoritative or permissive. These two approaches allow parents to set standards for children but in the permissive case, the parent avoids enforcing the standards. An authoritative parent will set standards enforce them but portray a very high level of nurturing the child (O'reilly & Candida p.4).
Upon failing to meet a certain task, a Chinese mother will most likely insult or deny the child perceived rights. In contrast, the American will give the child, appreciate first before commenting on the need to improve. A recent book by a renowned author, Amy Chua, seems to suggest that children tend to respond more to threats and denial of what they consider luxurious. The effect of this approach by the Chinese parent is that children tend to carry out whatever task given solely to please the parent or win the favor. Eventually, the child ends up doing almost everything whenever a real threat exists. On the other hand, the American parent will realize that the child may not achieve much because they are not being pushed (O'reilly & Candida p.6).
The above assertions are vehemently opposed by both sides with each defending its position and highlighting cases of success resulting from respective approaches. For instance, Amy Chua claims that by using the methods, the daughter would perform beyond the expectation (p14). In short, the Chinese method is justified in the sense that it encourages a child to go beyond the ordinary. The Chinese argue that American parents are never happy because they hardly express their disgust to their children when they fail. In response, the American parents maintain that children who are encou...