How do the French manage to raise well-behaved children, and have a life?
What British parent hasn't noticed, on visiting France, how polite and civilized French children are, compared to our own? They don't cause havoc in restaurants, they always say 'bonjour' politely to adults, and they never throw tantrums in supermarkets.Why is it normal for French babies to sleep through the night by two or three months? And how do their mothers always manage to look so sexy, cool and chic?
New Yorker Pamela Druckerman never imagined she would end up in a Paris apartment with an English husband and a baby, followed in quick succession by twins. She discoveredthat in France mothers did things differently - and often better. So she set about investigating the secrets of parenting à la française. The result is this funny, helpful and informative book.
[from the inside flap; hardcover edition]

Reserved for bookobsessed friend, azuki. [Everybook VBB, bookobsessed.com]

Happy reading azuki!

Thank you so much for reserving the book for me. So sorry I haven't journalled it till now but life was a bit out of control. Thank you again. I read bits of it and looks like it's a more serious read than I expected (not in a bad way).

It's indeed a much more serious read than I expected. It's not just a mom's experience of raising children in a foreign land; the author really puts her journalist cap on (her experience at Wall Street Journal sure didn't get throw out with the baby water) and did some serious research: reading books, interviewing specialists, attending the school board meal planning meeting and more.

The result is a very interesting comparison of Anglo and French child rearing culture and beliefs. Needless to say, there's a lot of generalization and stereo-typing, but it feels true. I don't have children so I have limited experience, but what she says about American children seems true to what I've seen. For example, the ubiquitous children menu, how super-picky eating habits are tolerated, helicopter parenting, the-world-revolves-around-my-kids attitude...

An excellent read. I don't plan being a parent but reading this book makes me almost want to have a baby just to try out those ideas (how early can my baby sleep through the night?)

Sending to PBS member in Kansas.

received via Paperback Swap PBS