How do the French manage to raise well-behaved children and have a life! Who hasn't noticed how well-behaved French children are - compared to our own? - How come French babies sleep through the night? - Why do French children happily eat what is put in front of them? - How can French mums chat to their friends while their children play quietly? - Why are French mums more likely to be seen in skinny jeans than tracksuit bottoms? Pamela Druckerman, who lives in Paris with three young children, has had years of observing her French friends and neighbours, and with wit and style, has written a memoir that is ideally placed to teach us the basics of parenting a la francaise.
Recommend this book
Add your recommendation
Only registered users can recommend books. Please use the buttons below to either create a new account, or sign-in to an existing account.
Fascinating... gripping... extremely funny... A desperately needed corrective to received wisdom about child-rearing and what having children is supposed to do to a woman's sense of self. I loved it. It made me want to move to Paris - The Sunday Times
Self-deprecating, witty, informative... But however much she admires 'the easy, calm authority' French parents seem to posess, will Druckerman manage it herself? Her efforts to do so add a compelling narrative to this fascinating study of French parenting - Guardian
Observant, dryly entertaining... In recounting how her three children went native, Druckerman is engagingly self-deprecating... This book is worth its price for the crucial information it reveals about how to win the sleep wars - Daily Mail
Fascinating and enlightening... Druckerman's observations struck me as Eureka discoveries that could improve interaction between adults and children here - The Lady
I couldn't put it down! Smart, funny, provocative, and genuinely eye-opening -
Pamela Druckerman is a charming narrator... she has produced an important guide to staying calm, and if half of what she says about anglophone parents is true, her book should be dispensed on prescription - Spectator
This witty book will leave you with a few tricks up your sleeve as you embrace the French culture - TES
Well-written, funny and doesn't take itself too seriously - Irish Sunday Independent
In engaging story-telling prose, Druckerman describes a French society of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and relaxed parents.' -
Pamela Druckerman is a freelance journalist on lifestyle issues married to English football writer Simon Kuper. They live in Paris and have a little daughter and toddler twin boys. Apart from using her own first-hand observation of her French friends and neighbours, for this new book, she has interviewed scores of French mothers, teachers and child experts. She is also the author of Lust in Translation: The Rules of Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee.
