This book was a wonderful, refreshing reassurance that it is totally possible to have a life where you are you, not only a mother.

Yet another Gallic guide to bringing up polite, well-behaved children has been published - so what do French mothers do that British ones don't? At any rate, I couldn't put this book down, and I have lots of take aways that I'll use in the future.

Andere Punkte wie "Nein heißt nein", "Ich habe das Sagen" und "Wenn ein Baby schreit, soll man es nicht sofort hochheben, sondern es zuerst beobachten, um herauszufinden, warum es schreit" sind Grundregeln zahlreicher Erziehungsansätze. That makes sense to me, but if this interview of which many apparently speak portrays the author as smug, elitist, and somewhat pedestrian, well, you probably won't be able to stomach the actual book, either, because after I read it, I can tell you that I aspire never to meet Ms. I've grown SO accustomed to seeing American children be the center of their parents' universe (constantly interrupting them in conversations, engaging their parents in their meltdowns at the dinner table) that it was a refreshing change of course to read about a culture where THAT kind of behavior is abnormal. Manners are paramount: even tinies are expected to greet their elders with a polite bonjour and kiss on the cheeks. But forcing yourself to stop for a second gives you the parent a moment to think, not just for the kid's sake, but so you don't live your life feeling like you're on a high wire.

Some of the reviewers lambasted the author for depicting the parenting styles of upper-class Parisians as 'out of touch' with how the French really raise their children but so what? 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. I've often said that I'm strict/consistent with kids because I *don't* have patience, not because I'm some saint. Druckerman actually does an excellent job of ferreting out the parenting secrets of the middle class French; she explains in clear and effective language how most French parents offer their children an éducation in delayed gratification, culinary delights, and interpersonal relationships. This ‘holiday’ seals the fact that life as we knew it eighteen months earlier has officially vanished.I had heard over and over that having a child meant the end of your life as you know it (and of course, to a degree that is true). Of course, French parenting wouldn't be worth talking about if it produced robotic, joyless children. The fetishization of the French (or the Chinese or whatever the 'hot' culture of the moment is) bugs me, to no end.