Bringing Up Bébé
One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting
by Pamela Druckerman
Bringing up Bébé describes one American expat’s experience giving birth to and raising three children in Paris. Druckerman gives a good taste of the cultural differences an American might discover while raising a small child in Paris.
Overall, French child-raising seems more civilized than the American model that Druckerman describes, that being the “helicopter parent.” I don’t fully recognize it from my childhood. But if that is what mainstream American child raising is nowadays, the French method is way less fatiguing for parents and results in better-behaved, happier children.
Druckerman focuses on six main differences:
1. Pregnancy and Birth
2. Child raising philosophy
3. Sleep
4. Eating
5. Crèches
6. Socialization
The structure of Bringing up Bébé is easy to follow, even as an audiobook. And the conclusions mirror my observations of French children.
They are well-behaved!
Reading this sort of non-fiction is very easy. It’s not filled with figures nor written in a formal style. It is more like having a conversation with a friend over coffee.
Anyone interested in cultural differences around childcare would enjoy this book. And anyone hoping to bring up little French kids should doubly read it.
Did you read Bringing Up Bébé? What are you thoughts about the differences between French and American children? Does America stand to learn something here?