French Children Don't Throw Food
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Review
'Fascinating...gripping...extremely funny...A desperately needed corrective to received wisdom about child-rearing and what having children is supposed to do to a woman's sense of self. I loved it. It made me want to move to Paris.' --India Knight, Sunday Times
'Self-deprecating, witty, informative...But however much she admires "the easy, calm authority" French parents seem to posess, will Druckerman manage it herself? Her efforts to do so add a compelling narrative to this fascinating study of French parenting.' --Michele Hanson, Guardian
'I couldn't put it down! Smart, funny, provocative, and genuinely eye-opening.' --Amy Chua, author of 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'
'In engaging story-telling prose, Druckerman describes a French scoiety of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and relaxed parents.'
--Mireille Guiliano, author of 'French Women Don't Get Fat'
'Self-deprecating, witty, informative...But however much she admires "the easy, calm authority" French parents seem to posess, will Druckerman manage it herself? Her efforts to do so add a compelling narrative to this fascinating study of French parenting.' --Michele Hanson, Guardian
'I couldn't put it down! Smart, funny, provocative, and genuinely eye-opening.' --Amy Chua, author of 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'
'In engaging story-telling prose, Druckerman describes a French scoiety of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and relaxed parents.'
--Mireille Guiliano, author of 'French Women Don't Get Fat'
Book Description
What French Women Don't Get Fat did for dieting, French Children Don't Throw Food will do for parenting - a witty memoir that gives an insightful look at the secrets of parenting a la Francaise.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vive la Difference,
By
This review is from: French Children Don't Throw Food (Hardcover)
Beneath a cloak of chatty prose and self-deprecating humour, Pamela Druckerman offers an incisive commentary on child-rearing in France. An irritating American with an irritable British husband (her words, not mine!), she experiences first-hand the differences in cultural, linguistic and performative expectations, covering everything from assumptions about pregnancy, to the socialisation of toddlers, and, of course, plain good manners. Embedded in the text are other stories, of raising bilingual children and of expat mothers in Paris, commiserating over French weirdness and tipping each other off as to where they can buy Marmite and Frazzles.This is no hatchet job on Anglophone maternity, nor is it a hagiography of French methods. Druckerman is far too smart for that, and even takes time out to investigate how many "American" methods have already been lifted from abroad. Discreet references at the back of the book ground her comments firmly in real research and childcare philosophy, stretching all the way back to Rousseau. Plenty of food for thought, and none of it thrown. However, since the French are not above dishing out smacks, perhaps someone would like to spank the design department for the ridiculously twee dust jacket, which serves little purpose and ended up in the bin shortly after I acquired the book.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, Well-Researched, Thoughtful,
By Molly Tinsley "Domestic Triffid" (Perth, Western Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: French Children Don't Throw Food (Hardcover)
This is a well-researched, well thought-out book about the philosophical differences between the Anglophone and the French approach to raising children. I found it very thought-provoking, especially as a Mother of three small and boisterous boys.Obviously the cultural structures (Creche/School/Food culture etc) that support the French approach to parenting aren't available here in Western Australia (!) But Pamela's discussion of the need for children to wait; the idea of the certainty of the cadre inside which children have freedom; the notion of trusting your children more; of respecting their rationality; of not beating oneself up about perceived failures of Mothering - these were all a-ha ! moments for me. She refers often to French experts on parenting who are quite simply unheard of in the Anglophone world (and unavailable in translation - like Francoise Dolto) and she also refers to the influence of Rousseau on the French approach to parenting. I am about to re-read my Kindle version again, and take notes this time. I can't implement all of the ideas that she discusses - I don't have the level of support that she does; but I do like the idea of calmer, more confident children. This book has a confiding, chatty tone that is extremely pleasant to read. I don't have a problem if she is rich (two writers ? I doubt it !) or if she lives in a certain area in Paris, or moves in certain circles - I'm a middle-class professional myself (or was, before I became a SAHM - and having read this book am now thinking quite hard about that as well). I don't think that the points that she makes are any less valid because of her perceived social status. I think it is a little harsh to attack such a useful and thoughtful book on the basis that she has only covered the areas of French parenting that she is familiar with, and from the perspective that she is familiar with. She hasn't discussed the issues of raising a teenager in a working class suburb of Lyons because she has no experience of that and it seems pointless to me to attack her for only covering what she knows. She doesn't discuss teenagers much either - again because her children are only very young.... Don't be put off reading this book - it offers not only a thoughtful critique of the differences in approach to parenting, but also an analysis of how to implement those aspects of the French approach that you find appealing, in detail.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Are we so different in child- minding?,
By
This review is from: French Children Don't Throw Food (Hardcover)
Children are the products of their parents: indisputable. Discipline and standards are a major part of their cultural and, perhaps,financial environment,( some say). It may help, but a larger proportion of a loving environment helps big time. Self-expression and ambition in the right context are to be encouraged.The 'French way', itself, is just another mode, maybe 'like father like son' or vice versa ('mother, daughter' etc), we hopefully learn from different habitats and circumstances that change. Noone has proven the better journey of joy or the lesser of trodden paths: and for what achievement? Misbehaviour (not of the norm?), is one facet discussed, however defined, perceived generally as lack of parental tolerance with a fear of causing lack of affection and ,'experts' may say, potential offspring resentment. Here I am reading the French way. Not so heavy, they are all brothers and sisters. The book is amusing, illuminating and the cross-boundaries are maybe not so great. (My French friends think otherwise but so do cross-boundary British). All generate insight and discussion. Great food for thought.P.S . Parents of three daughters and two grandaughters. Nothing unusual. We all still talk and eat together when we can (Dad pays).
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