Student Presenter(s): Ka Wai Wen
Faculty Mentor: Jaime Martinez
Department: Interdisciplinary Studies
School/College: College of Arts and Sciences, New York City

As children grow up, they are affected by two factors: nature and nurture. Nature involves the biological factors and other genetically inherited traits that help determine how your body and mind works. Genetics can influence not only diseases but increase in likelihood of certain mental illnesses and disorders. Nurture is the other factor that helps shape children as they grow such as one's environment, their upbringing, the bonds that form between their peers, parents, and exposure to new ideas.

For Chinese American children, nurture plays a big role in shaping who they become. In 2011, Amy Chua, an author and a professor in Yale Law school, popularized the usage of tiger moms and tiger parenting. Tiger parenting is the strict style of parenting that is believed to be a good way of disciplining and raising an obedient, hardworking child. In America, this style of parenting is discouraged and, in some cases, may be regarded as abuse. Chinese American children who undergo this type of childrearing may develop subconscious habits, mental illnesses and behaviors as a result of this form of treatment. This project will analyze Amy Chua's controversial novel, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, her beliefs as a self-identifying tiger mom versus the complex perspective of children who grew up exposed to this form of parenting. As important as it is to acknowledge the historical and cultural relation to the tiger style parenting, it's also important to bring awareness to the negative mental effects that may surface as the child enters adulthood and become an obstacle for them in the future.