Should Vietnamese Parents Raise Their Children the American Way?

Subject : Should Vietnamese parents raise their children the American way ?

      In the “ flat world “ age , where discrimination is being abolished and cultures are

blending in together, it is of natural matter for a nation to adopt the elites aspects of

others around the world. Being no exception, the Vietnamese family has since the 20th

century underwent periods of changes due to this factor. Hence, the question as to whether

should Viet parents choose to raise their offsprings the traditional way passed down from

previous generations, or, to bring up their children the more modern way, the American

family way, is raised. Briefly, the American family revolves around individualism where

children are taught to be independent from a very young age, all prepared for the departure

from the parents arms at adulthood. However, the Vietnamese counterpart tends to

guide, protect and nurture their children from birth even until the offsprings have their own

family. As a consequent, staying with the parents after college or marriage are

considered a commonplace. As observed from the mightiness of the USA, there’s no

doubt that this kind of family will “ forge “ children into the independent, mature and

responsible adults who will become the main force of the thriving for a better nation, thus,

Vietnamese parents should administer their children the way Yanks raise theirs.

      Firstly, Viet parents have a habit of protecting their children indefinitely, and this

is detrimental to the future of the youngsters as they will grow up to be dependent adults.

While American children have their own room after leaving the hospitals for home;

Vietnamese counterparts, on the other hand, sleep with, or near the parents from birth until

the age of twelve, for some, the length might extend further. Sleeping alone seems to be a

simple thing, nonetheless, it bears a lot of meanings owing to it being the first step on the

way to becoming an independent adult. Easy as it sounds, sleeping alone is also the first

thing the child can do on their own. Another example of this habit points to this case :

American parents tend to let their children make decision themselves, to have their own

voice in domestic matters and then be responsible for the actions. However, Viet parents

choose to make decision for their children as they think of them are yet mature enough

to bear the responsibility of their choice. This is very destructive to the forming of the child’s

character as it, again, leads to dependency on others when encountering adversity.

      While it might be argued that a child should not be put under circumstances such as

making a decision due to the fact that they are still mentally incapable of doing so, it is best

to start as soon as possible because the earlier it takes place, the easier for the child to

become independent. Take for instance the shaping of a Bonsai tree. The process begins

when the plant is still small until it has grown into the expected size. Why does the shaping

take places in that early stage ? Due to the fact that when still in the phrase of a sapling ,

the Bonsai has yet to fully develop all of its features and is still delicate and flexible enough