The author of this book is an American journalist living in
Paris and raising her family there. While out in a restaurant with her husband
and her 18-month-old daughter, she realizes that her lunch experience
with a toddler in tow is a mess and a struggle, and not at all relaxing.
Meantime, the French families around her, also with young children, are calmly
enjoying their meals together. This experience prompts her to wonder, and then
to research, what makes French parenting different from American parenting?
She finds that, in general, French kids start sleeping
through the night around two months old, have a higher tolerance for waiting
and frustration, and they eat well-rounded meals. French kids also seem to be
in better control of themselves and more well-behaved.
Druckerman finds that the French view of what a child
actually is and what he/she is capable of is quite different from the American
view.
This book was super interesting! It made me think that
there’s another way to raise kids than how I see it done in the United States.
For example, while American kids seem to be snacking all day long and mothers
keep an endless supply of cheerios in their purses, French kids eat breakfast,
lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. When a child buys
a treat from a bakery, she knows that it’s not to be eaten right away. The
treat will be saved until the afternoon snack time.
I like that French kids are raised to eat well-rounded
meals. They don’t just eat “kid food.” This is how Druckerman describes lunch
at her daughter’s daycare: “Lunch is served in four courses: a cold vegetable
starter, a main dish with a side of grains or cooked vegetables, a different
cheese each day, and a dessert of fresh fruit or fruit puree” (p. 112). Cool,
huh? I’d eat that. Especially the cheese!
I’d definitely recommend this book for some good food for
thought. It's thoughtful and funny, and the author is quite likeable. It’s one of the most interesting books I’ve read so far in 2012.
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