153 Quotes by Amy Chua

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

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.

Both of my girls have very high self-esteem because they were both able to master certain things; I should think that’s good for their confidence.

The Chinese model calls for giving your kids very little choice – and I’ve come to see that you can go too far with that. On the other hand, I also believe that Western parents sometimes give their young kids too much choice.

Most things are difficult at the beginning and they become fun, something you love, only after you’ve worked at them.

I think there are many ways to raise great kids. From what I can tell, Ayelet Waldman’s kids are interesting, strong, and happy, and if that’s the case, that’s good parenting.

Questioning authority is, I think, a great thing to instill in children. I just didn’t have enough of that when I was little.

I’m a slave to my dogs and go out with them almost every day. They are poorly behaved if they don’t run. They really act up.

The most successful hyperpowers are the ones where there was actual intermixing. Tang dynasty China was China's golden age, and contrary to what I was told when I was growing up, Tang China was founded by a man who by today's standards was no more than half Chinese. It was a mixed-blood dynasty that pulled in 'barbarians' from the steppe.