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

I lived in France for year and had already been introduced to the books, French Women Don't Get Fat and French Kids Eat Everything so I was already a bit biased towards French culture. I did notice during my time in France that kids would sit in bars drinking milk or juice while mothers and fathers had wine and in general the kids seemed calm and even tempered. That said, I think the book offers one perspective on some of the differences between French and American children and why. I found it to be an interesting read. Her writing style is light, conversational which makes for an easy read. My big issue with the book is that she emphasizes in nearly every chapter, multiple times that she is middle class and that she is talking and gathering opinions from middle class parents. The few times it was mentioned, I just assumed it was frame to help the reader understand the groups she spoke with but she reemphasized it repeatedly throughout the book and after some time it seemed like bragging or being condescending.As well, I think she underestimated or played down some significant differences between parenting for women in France and the US. She noted the free children, free health insurance, education, etc. but that's a big, big deal. There is no federally mandated, full-paid, maternity leave in the US. American mother's are at the mercy of whatever their employer wants to offer and FMLA which only guarantees 2/3 of pay for 6 weeks. French mother's get 3 full months, paid. Childcare is not free to American mothers those 6 FMLA weeks; a good daycare for an infant 5 days a week can easily cost $2k a month or more. French mother's pay nothing more than their taxes for creche. There are not what's sounds like an army of free options to help a mother breastfeed, retighten and whatever after delivery for American mothers and preschools aren't necessarily free depending where you live, university isn't free for much later, etc. etc. French mother's have a lot of help.I'm with the whole well-behaved child, and not turning yourself into a muppet just to be mother i.e. giving up adult life and adult language but perhaps it is a bit easier to be that type of mother and raise that type of child when there's more state resources in a society that values and wants to protect motherhood rather than one that creates and obstacle course for women who want to be mothers and working professionals.I actually really enjoyed the book and plan on trying some techniques from it, but I could've done without Druckerman's classist, rose-colored "if only" take on motherhood, where she ignores hards truths and significant obstacles for American mothers.

Loved this book! Probably one of my favorite reads during my pregnancy. It was refreshing to hear an outsider perspective on parenting and pregnancy that’s not the “American norm”.I feel like there is a true benefit to looking at parenting through a more multi-cultural lens. There is so much new parents, and even experienced parents can learn from one another if we just step out of our cultural norms or bubbles.This book is a great read because it’s written more like a story and less like a self help. As a new parent, I was devouring tons of baby books and it was so nice to read a book that wasn’t a set of guidelines and how-to’s... it was more of a guided story and look into someone’s world.I’ve used a lot of the French philosophies of parenting in this book as soon as my child was born. The book helped me change my mentality in that I felt like I was more in control of how I could help my child adapt more easily to our world, such as, sleep through the night and eat nutritious foods. There is also a section in the book about baking a super simple cake with your toddler; what a crazy yet clever idea! Although I haven’t tried a full blown cake yet, I’ve allowed my 1.5 yr old help me in the kitchen with making pancakes and mixing ingredients when we bake. It has been a great bonding experience and learning experience for her so far and it’s incredibly fascinating to see your child develop and interest in these “adult” skills at such an early age.Totally worth the read and very encouraging in putting confidence back in parenting in our day and age.

I hate how the author generalizes her own (and maybe a few of her friends’) parenting as “American parenting.”I bought this book to see what it was all about, just to find out that my “American parenting” is not really that different from French parenting.While the premises is great, I really don’t understand the need to degrade American mothers. By “American parenting” she really means “American hippy parenting”, and there are still plenty of mothers around the US (at least around me) who seem to know how to raise children properly...the “French way” I guess.

I did enjoy this and found it an interesting set of observations on French child-rearing. However, there was a bit too much of the New York Francophile for me - it made you feel as though Americans never do anything right and the French never do anything wrong which could get annoying.

Some great tips - helped my 3 month old go through the night without needing a feed (10pm-7am)

It's an excellent book with great advice for bringing up children.when to give sweets was brilliant.

I wish I had read this book seven months ago! There are so many helpful hints (particularly about sleeping). It is also really fun and entertaining to read. I am recommending it to all my friends with young children.

Different parenting approach comparison (French vs American) and very fluent and amusing narration style. Different type of parenting, childcare book. You should read this before or during your pregnancy