Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting

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French children aren't just tolerated in restaurants, at dinner parties, or at the market. They're welcomed - and not just with high chairs. People actually smile at them. They are paid attention to, included. It's virtually unheard of for kids to interrupt adults.Pamela Druckerman

The French have managed to be involved with their families without becoming obsessive. They assume that even good parents aren't at the constant service of their children, and that there's no need to feel guilty about this.Pamela Druckerman

I've spent years witnessing it, and I can now report: the French aren't better parents. They just have a different parenting culture. That culture shapes their children's behavior, and in turn, probably helps shape the parents' behavior too.Pamela Druckerman

There are dozens of books on 'how to become French.' They seem to agree on one thing: that you'll develop an irrepressibly Parisian essence by wearing a breton sweatshirt, knotting a scarf a certain way, and mastering the 'no-makeup' makeup look.Pamela Druckerman

French parents are very concerned about their kids, talking about them all the time. But they have all these rules and restrictions.Pamela Druckerman

The problem is that constantly interrupting kids, and preventing them from experiencing small failures, makes them less competent, not more.Pamela Druckerman

Many French parents I meet have an easy, calm authority with their children that I can only envy. Their kids actually listen to them. French children aren't constantly dashing off, talking back, or engaging in prolonged negotiations.Pamela Druckerman

The French model of early learning is part of a surprising phenomenon: France has the highest percentage of women in the workforce in Europe.Pamela Druckerman

In France, parenting isn't a form of martyrdom. French mothers assume that it's healthy for them to have an array of interests, that they can be involved and nurturing but also do things on their own.Pamela Druckerman

I have days when I think I might have cracked the code, and other days when I'm a complete foreigner. But at least there's lots of cheese.Pamela Druckerman