耶鲁大学法学院华裔教授蔡美儿的新书《虎妈战歌》在被美国媒体摘录后，立即成为中西方媒体热议的话题，“虎妈”蔡美儿提出的“中国式”严苛教子方法也引发了巨大争议。蔡美儿是华裔第二代美国移民，书中介绍了她如何秉承“中国妈妈”的教育方式，严苛地要求两个女儿并使其获得成功的经历，并列出了十大“不准”家规，当女儿们没有按照要求去做时，她会直接骂她们“垃圾”，甚至不准吃饭、上厕所。
“虎妈”的另类教育方法引起社会巨大反响，支持者认为，为了让孩子将来跻身成功人士之列，就应该对他们“狠”一点。而反对方除了质疑蔡美儿有虐待儿童之嫌外，也指出“虎妈”的做法实际上是在抹杀孩子的个性和自由天性。
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 .
"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.