“虎媽式教育”是正確的育兒之道嗎?

It’s believed by many Chinese parents that hard work leads to success. Indeed, a number of parents in China adopt a strict parenting style to motivate their children to excel in their studies.

許多中國家長都認爲刻苦努力才能踏上成功之路。的確，不少中國家長都採用了嚴格的教育方式，希望自己的孩子成績優異。

The idea of strict parents is certainly familiar to Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, who posted 26 study tips on her personal blog in September. The 25-year-old had recently finished her postgraduate studies at Yale University in the United States. Her post raised discussions about the parenting skills of her mother, Amy Chua, a Chinese-American professor at Yale Law School.

嚴父嚴母對於索菲婭·蔡-魯本菲爾德而言並不陌生，今年9月，她在個人博客上分享了26條學習心得。這位25歲的姑娘最近在美國耶魯大學完成了研究生的學業。她的文章引發了人們對於其母、耶魯大學法學院美籍華裔教授蔡美兒的教育方式的討論。

Chua was given the nickname “Tiger Mom” for her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, published in 2011, which includes the details of her strict parenting methods of raising her daughters.

蔡美兒因2011年出版《虎媽戰歌》一書被稱爲“虎媽”，書中講述了她對女兒嚴格的教育方式。

Because of the book, she became a household name overnight and was even listed in Time Magazine’s Top 100 most influential people in 2011.

她因這本書一夜成名，甚至在2011年入選《時代》週刊全球最具影響力人物100強。

Chua set strict standards for her two daughters, Sophia and Lulu. For example, in school, they weren’t allowed to make grades lower than A’s. They had to play the piano or violin and practice for several hours a day. There were no sleepovers, play dates or TV.

蔡美兒爲兩個女兒索菲婭和露露制定了嚴格的要求。比如，姐妹倆在校學習成績不能低於A。她們每天都要花上幾小時練習鋼琴或者小提琴，不能在外過夜、約會或者看電視。

Chua’s parenting received wide criticism.

蔡美兒的教育方式受到了廣泛批評。

“Children need their parents’ love and acceptance in order to develop real self-esteem. Belittling children sends the message that they are not worthy of love and support,” Lac Su, vice president of marketing for TalentSmart, a global think tank, wrote in CNN.

“孩子們需要家長的愛與包容，才能形成真正的自尊。輕視會讓孩子們感到自己不值得被愛與支持，”全球智庫TalentSmart的營銷副總裁拉克·蘇在CNN上寫道。

Some even predicted that the two girls “couldn’t possibly be happy or truly creative. They’ll grow up skilled and compliant but without the audacity to be great,” according to The New York Times.

據《紐約時報》報道，一些人甚至預言兩個女孩“或許並不快樂，也無法真正擁有創造力。她們長大後會有“技能傍身，順從他人，卻缺乏成功的膽量”。

However, seven years have passed and the girls have grown up. Both of them seem to lead a good life and are thankful about their mother. “People assume that tiger parenting would [lead to] low self-esteem because there isn’t that constant praise, but I think I [have got] a lot more confidence than some others, because my confidence is earned,” Lulu told New York Post. “[My mom] gave me the tools to drive my own confidence.”

然而七年過去，女孩們也長大了。兩人看起來都過得不錯，並且對母親心存感激。“人們認爲虎媽式教育會導致孩子自卑，因爲家長不會常常表揚孩子。但我認爲我比一些人更自信，因爲我自己贏來了自信，”露露在接受《紐約郵報》採訪時表示。“（我媽媽）給予了我激發自信的工具。”

Still, not everyone agrees with this. “Instead of motivating my children to achieve high grades, my dream is that, in the future, we can just sit together after dinner and have a family concert and enjoy the music,” Mike Wang, a Chinese parent with a 14-year-old daughter who lives in London, told China Daily.

但並非所有人都同意這一點。“我的夢想不是讓孩子得高分，而是將來我們能在晚飯後一起坐下來，開個家庭音樂會一起欣賞音樂，”一位現居倫敦，14歲女孩的中國家長邁克·王在接受《中國日報》採訪時如此表示。

Each child may just fit different parenting. As Gu Jun, a professor from Shanghai University put it, “No child is perfect, and parents don’t have to make their parenting perfect.”

每個孩子所適用的教育方式或許都有所不同。正如上海大學教授顧駿所言，“沒有一個孩子是完美的，家長沒必要把自己的教育塑造得無可挑剔。”