French Children Don't Throw Food: The hilarious NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER changing parents’ lives

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She notes (as have I) that when she walked into the home of Americans, the house was chaotic, toys asunder, children whining, eating whatever and whenever; the mothers were harried, dressed slovenly; parents stressed and distant. What British parent hasn't noticed, on visiting France, how well behaved French children are, compared to our own? I don’t know what parenting books she is reading, but they are not any of the mainstream ones that I have been reading because they are almost all written by doctors or at the very least, cite medical rationale for their assertions. But my generation saw the damage that lack of limits did to children and how it ultimately caused them problems, so we went back to being authoritarian.

It leads me to believe that this woman’s publicist is a genius and that the readers who like this book are the same ones that like The Help, which includes the women who replace their entire wardrobes with Lululemon outfits as soon as they become moms. As Crawford’s French friend Lucie put it, pouring Crawford another glass of wine post dinner when Crawford’s younger daughter Daphne was throwing a tantrum for attention: “If there’s no blood, don’t get up.As she emphasizes, she is American; she does not live in France because of francophilia; she does not imagine that she will stay or live in France. For example, she makes the broad statement that French children sleep through the night at age 2-3 months whereas American children don't even at age 1. all day, but at the same time, I feel as though it's often forgotten that it's reassuring to kids to have a leader. At any rate, I couldn't put this book down, and I have lots of take aways that I'll use in the future. While some Anglophone toddlers are getting Mandarin tutors and pre-literacy training, French kids are – by design – just toddling around.

Well-off lawyers, caregivers in French nurseries, state-school teachers and old ladies who approach me in the park all say more or less the same things. Manners are paramount: even tinies are expected to greet their elders with a polite bonjour and kiss on the cheeks. My spouse pointed out that it's books like these that contribute to mother guilt here in America, books that say you're doing it wrong, do it this way. And I can't pay much attention to this fabulous parenting advice when I'm watching your little French 4-year-old darling with a pacifier in her mouth!A fascinating read, but the parenting advice is nothing new, and definitely not uniquely French, except for those preschoolers' pacifiers. And why don’t they mention that French kids don’t require constant attention from adults, and that they seem capable of hearing the word ‘no’ without collapsing? Respect for children as intelligent beings capable of learning - and NOT in need of constant hand holding to do so.

I laughed through the explanation of fostering autonomy by allowing children one swear word, one that has been used and said by many generations: "caca boudin" (translated to caca sausage). While my children are far from perfect, we have rarely had any problems taking them to restaurants or any other public place. Several people mentioned that this book was helpful in seeing that French mothers don't feel guilty about numerous aspects of their parenting the way American mothers do. While some American toddlers are getting Mandarin tutors and preliteracy training, French kids are- by design-toddling around and discovering the world at their own pace.French mothers, says Crawford, also make their children wait for attention if they are otherwise engaged talking to another adult. Finally, a lot of the French parenting ideals would not be attainable without the well-funded, state-run nurseries that take children from an early age. When it comes to their politicians, we snigger at former president Nicolas Sarkozy and his Cuban heels. I think this lady’s only experience with actual French children was some upper-class Parisien kids who had a nanny to beat their ass if they so much as breathed wrong and tarnished their parents’ darling reputation as high-society socialites, because absolutely none of the above sounds even remotely like my childhood (in the relatively lower-class southern countryside in a town most non-provinciaux have never heard of) or those of anyone I know. During childbirth in France, epidural anesthesia is used, which does not make this process pleasant, but allows you to eliminate the significant consequences of Eve's curse.

What struck me in England was how extremely patient and gentle English mothers were with their children compared with French parents," she said.Of course, French parenting wouldn't be worth talking about if it produced robotic, joyless children. On the flip side, perhaps because I'm not an upper-crust, Manhattan parent, I don't personally know any American that parents the way she suggests.