"I just don't understand it," he said. "I didn't get back really late. There was no need to spank me to remind me of what she expected me to do."

Zeng Xiaodong, a professor at Beijing Normal University, warned that strict parenting can backfire, especially if parents place tough demands on their children but fail to set good examples themselves. A lazy mother is very likely to face contempt and resentment if she pushes a child to wake up early and study and to play more sports.

Many people born in the 1980s are just having children and have yet to deal with the chief difficulties of parenting. Zeng called on them to learn to be good parents by spending time with their children, instead of relying heavily on the social services provided by restaurants, schools and day-care centers.

"Strict parenting is also a tradition in other Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea," she said. "It has merits in raising smarter children and preparing them better for harsh competition in the future. And I am sure Chua's conflicts with her daughters were exaggerated in her book and rarely happened in real life."