I found the cultural parenting sketches interesting, though I'm curious to know how much is stereotypical assumption. I did think that her observations of American style parenting were more extreme than what I've observed in my own area. Perhaps there is greater variation regionally than she brings up. In fact I'm almost sure of this since I've heard corroborating stories about the New York parenting climate, which sounds extremely bizarre to me.
Don't get me wrong, I've definitely struggled with some of the parenting angst she describes, especially with my first baby. I've found that I've naturally lightened up a bit and adopted some of the more "French" parenting habits naturally as I've been a parent longer.
A few of the things I didn't like about the French parenting culture were the lack of interest in breastfeeding, and the huge push to regain Mom's figure. For me, breastfeeding is way easier and more convenient than bottle feeding, and I think it would be difficult to be in a culture that wasn't very accepting of it. And while I've certainly never thought of myself as huge or overweight, I'm perfectly happy to hang onto a few pounds until I get motivated some time after the 3 month post-baby mark. I'm happy that we don't have that same cultural peer pressure in the States to get back into shape so fast.
I did like the ideas about the cadre, or frame, where certain things are very disciplined, but the children have a lot of freedom aside from those things. I also appreciated the importance of independent play, respect for others, no snacking between meals, and openness to new foods. These are things that I am working on doing, or would like to implement better. I also would like to try to implement "the pause" better with our next baby in regards to sleeping habits.
One area that the book makes me aspire to be better is in scheduling. I'm not very good with being somewhere or doing something at a certain time. I can definitely see the benefit of eating at the same times every day and getting the kids down for a scheduled bed time. We have a rough schedule at our house, but the actual event can vary up to an hour.
I would be curious to experience the environment that Druckerman describes in the French culture of high quality, government subsidized child care. I think it's incredible that workers at the creche make their jobs a career and that competition to get into the field is very high. I love that they're trained extensively in biology, child development, nutrition, sleep, etc, and that they serve meals that aren't American kid-centric type meals. Instead of chicken nuggets, they serve their meals in courses containing "adult" foods that you might see at any upscale French restaurant. They also allow a great deal of free play, rather than trying to speed up the child's academic development like we tend to focus on more here in the States.
We ended up making the decision for me to stay home with the kids. I don't have any regrets, and I think for our situation it's the right thing for right now. However, I am impressed that the French culture makes it so easy and appealing to return to work if the mother desires. I would have much less difficulty working knowing my children were in a good, high-quality child care situation like Druckerman describes, while not having to pay an arm and a leg for it.
While the book was interesting, I didn't find it revolutionary by any means. I'm not sure I would even recommend it to anyone. It did make me interested in learning a bit more about French culinary practices. I would like to find out more about their meal time habits and what not. Maybe I'll even try a few recipes. For this reason, I'm working on tracking down French Women Don't Get Fat, which Druckerman mentioned in her book. I've also checked out The Man Who Ate Everything, also mentioned in the book, and look forward to reading it next.
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