I am reading two books this month. Both are books on parenting. One is by local authors and the other is a hot topic in the US on a memoir on her parenting style. I have just started reading both and hopefully I can finish reading both of them so I can move on to a new book next month.
Helping Our Children Do Well in School – 10 Successful Strategies from the Parent’s Best Practices Study of the Ateneo de Manila High School by Quenna N. Lee-Chua, PhD and Ma. Isabel Sison-Dionisio, M.A.
I was browsing for books when this caught my attention. I have read two books earlier on how to raise smart kids. This one will be a good follow up to those books since it is based on a Philippine setting.
The book outlines 10 strategies which were based on a survey done by the authors to parents of students who excels in Ateneo. Each strategies were discussed in details. The authors would include materials from research, personal stories with their family and kids, and highlights from the discussion groups which was part of their survey. It provides a lot of real stories and hands-on approach which I love about the book.
So far, I am reading strategy number five.
The book sells for 295 Php. I got my copy from Powerbooks.
A companion manual is sold separately at 240 Php.
If you want an overview of the 10 simple strategies, you can read the article at Sun Star Davao.
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
This book was just released last January 2011 and it became very controversial.
Amy Chua writes about how she raise her two daughters the “Chinese way”. It was taken by others as harsh and abusive. At the back cover, she gave some rules when she raised her two daughters. They were not allowed to:
- attend a sleepover
- have a playdate
- be in a school play
- complain about not being in a school play
- watch TV or play computer games
- choose their own extracurricular activities
- get any grade less than an A
- not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama
- play any instrument other than the piano or violin
- not play the piano or violin
These are even the “less harsh” rules. In the book are more extreme and shocking scenes where Amy would employ to make sure her kids are at their best. Her parenting style was taken by some as appalling and haunting. But others embrace her style and frankness. You would probably take a few tips as well since her daughters were indeed the best.
Now what made me want to read the book is that probably I can relate to this traditional, strict parenting approach. Those rules did not surprise me as harsh. Instead, it made me recall how my parents raised me with their list of do’s and dont’s to make me excel.
I saw the book at A Different Kind of Bookstore at Serendra for about 900+ Php. I got a digital copy instead.
Check out more parenting books at Amazon.com
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