Bookworm Review: “Bringing Up Bebe” by Pamela Druckerman

Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
February 2012

Synopsis on Goodreads: When American journalist Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she doesn’t aspire to become a “French parent.” French parenting isn’t a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren’t doing anything special. 

Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old while those of her American friends take a year or more. French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. 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. There’s no role model, as there is in America, for the harried new mom with no life of her own. French mothers assume that even good parents aren’t at the constant service of their children and that there’s no need to feel guilty about this. 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. While some American toddlers are getting Mandarin tutors and preliteracy training, French kids are- by design-toddling around and discovering the world at their own pace.

With a notebook stashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman—a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal—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.

While finding her own firm non, Druckerman discovers that children-including her own-are capable of feats she’d never imagined

My thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this book. It was written like a woman telling a story which I loved. I really enjoyed reading about Pam’s experiences in France and raising her children. I found it very interesting the differences in our culture versus theirs and I think we could learn many useful things from the French when it comes to raising our children. I especially found “the pause” very helpful with my little one. It is amazing the amount of times he will put himself back to sleep if I just wait a few minutes whether than running right to him, picking him up and really waking him up myself. There are several little tricks throughout this book that have been helpful to me. I gave it 4 stars.