Exp Bringing Up Bebe

Druckerman, Pamela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143123580 ISBN 13: 9780143123583

Publisher: Penguin Random House USA, 1900

When American journalist Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she doesn't aspire to become a "French parent." Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old. And while her American friends spend their visits resolving spats between their kids, her French friends sip coffee while the kids play.

Motherhood itself is a whole different experience in France. French mothers assume that even good parents aren't at the constant service of their children and they have an easy, calm authority with their kids that Druckerman can only envy. Of course, French parenting wouldn't be worth talking about if it produced robotic, joyless children. In fact, French kids are just as boisterous, curious, and creative as Americans. They're just far better behaved and more in command of themselves.

With a notebook stashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman sets out to learn the secrets to raising a society of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and reasonably relaxed parents. She discovers that French parents are extremely strict about some things and strikingly permissive about others. And she realizes that to be a different kind of parent, you don't just need a different parenting philosophy. You need a very different view of what a child actually is.

Review:

""Bringing Up Bebe" is a must-read for parents who would like their children to eat more than white pasta and chicken fingers."
--Fox News

"On questions of how to live, the French never disappoint. . . . Maybe it all starts with childhood. That is the conclusion that readers may draw from "Bringing Up Bebe.""
--"The Wall Street Journal"

"French women don't have little bags of emergency Cheerios spilling all over their Louis Vuitton handbags. They also, Druckerman notes, wear skinny jeans instead of sweatpants.The world arguably needs more kids who don't throw food."
--"Chicago Tribune"

"I've been a parent now for more than eight years, and--confession--I've never actually made it all the way through a parenting book. But I found "Bringing Up Bebe" to be irresistible."
--"Slate"

Marvelous . . . Like Julia Child, who translated the secrets of French cuisine, Druckerman has investigated and distilled the essentials of French child-rearing. . . . Druckerman provides fascinating details about French sleep training, feeding schedules and family rituals. But her book's real pleasures spring from her funny, self-deprecating stories. Like the principles she examines, Druckerman isn't doctrinaire. NPR

Bringing Up Bebe is a must-read for parents who would like their children to eat more than white pasta and chicken fingers.

Fox News

On questions of how to live, the French never disappoint. . . . Maybe it all starts with childhood. That is the conclusion that readers may draw from Bringing Up Bebe.

The Wall Street Journal

French women don't have little bags of emergency Cheerios spilling all over their Louis Vuitton handbags. They also, Druckerman notes, wear skinny jeans instead of sweatpants.The world arguably needs more kids who don't throw food.

Chicago Tribune

I ve been a parent now for more than eight years, and confession I ve never actually made it all the way through a parenting book. But I foundBringing Up Bebe to be irresistible."

Slate"

"Marvelous . . . Like Julia Child, who translated the secrets of French cuisine, Druckerman has investigated and distilled the essentials of French child-rearing. . . . Druckerman provides fascinating details about French sleep training, feeding schedules and family rituals. But her book's real pleasures spring from her funny, self-deprecating stories. Like the principles she examines, Druckerman isn't doctrinaire." -- NPR

"Bringing Up Bebe is a must-read for parents who would like their children to eat more than white pasta and chicken fingers."

-- Fox News

"On questions of how to live, the French never disappoint. . . . Maybe it all starts with childhood. That is the conclusion that readers may draw from Bringing Up Bebe."

-- The Wall Street Journal

"French women don't have little bags of emergency Cheerios spilling all over their Louis Vuitton handbags. They also, Druckerman notes, wear skinny jeans instead of sweatpants.The world arguably needs more kids who don't throw food."

-- Chicago Tribune

"I've been a parent now for more than eight years, and--confession--I've never actually made it all the way through a parenting book. But I found Bringing Up Bebe to be irresistible."

-- Slate

About the Author:

Pamela Druckerman is a contributing opinion writer for the International New York Times and a former staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, where she covered foreign affairs. Her work has also appeared in the Washington Post and Marie Claire. She lives in Paris.