To really like the book "French Children Don't throw food"

[catgirl1976]

I am sure some of them do and the title is a bit (like French Women Don't Get Fat - I am sure lots do) - and I find the author annoying and think I would dislike her IRL, and I think the "French" attitude to BF is not righ......but these issues aside..........

I've just read this and I loved it. DS is 15 weeks now and I wish I had read it before he was born as I think I would have handled his sleep / waking differently.

He does sit nicely in restaurants though (smug).

It has got rid of my guilt about the fact I will be going back to work in 3 weeks and putting him in nursery and the fact that I combination feed. I love this book :)

It seems like relaxed, common sense, sensible parenting to me

Your 15 week old sits nicely in restaurants?

Good luck with that.

Just like someone I know- 'My 8 month old eats olives, much better than my friend's kids who only eat nuggets'.

Um yeah, come back when you have a two year old.

Smug, smugger, smuggest.

He does - we've been out a few times now for meals and he will sit nicely with no fuss and no tears. He likes looking at different people I think

He's 15 weeks, what's he going to do? Run around ??

OK..............Sorry

But I was asking about the book, not about restaurants - that was a part of it but I found the "attitude" to parenting it described very interesting I liked ot and wondered if anyone else had read it

Sorry cat girl, I was being silly and having a giggle to myself.

DS sat beautifully at restaurants at 15 weeks. He's now 18 months. We don't take him to restaurants anymore.....

He's cleary enthralled with all the food he's going to eat, as a BLW child soon.
He would never squeal or shit his nappy when good food is in his sight.

It's because he's had Superior Parenting.

:) Well you made me smile too Goolash (At the thought of him running around) :)

I know that bit of my OP sounded smug which is why I said (smug). It wasn't the point of the post, (in which I also alluded to the non-smug making fact that he doesn't sleep well)

But I liked the stuff about teaching babies to wait from an early age and the idea of teaching them a little frustration without resorting to things likes Controlled Crying and just wondered what other people thought

I havent read the book because the title is so utterly preposterous that I can't get past it.
What is the main premise? That we should adapt our child rearing techniques to suit a set of entirely different and alien cultural norms? Or should we just take them to eat in restaurants more often?
(my children are half Fench, just for the record. So they only throw food with one hand...)

Give your DS a couple of handfuls of food in the restaurant and see if he throws it

The main premise really seems to be believing the child is capable of learning and understanding a lot more than we seem to think in the UK / American, so talking to them and explaining to them and expecting good behaviour, allowing them to have a little frustration and not get what they want all the time/straight away, teaching them patience and not rushing to them the minute they make a sound (but not letting them Cry It Out)

Nothing groundbreaking, but just warmly written, non-judgey and treating the child as a bit more capable somehow than other stuff I have read.

I really enjoyed it. The chapter on sleep where in a study, 100% of the babies were sleeping through by a few months was amazing. This was down to The Pause. I wish I'd known about it.

He would throw it (assuming he has the co-ordination) but not until he had smeared it around andrubbed it in his hair

But I am not smug in my parenting....I am terrified I am doing it wrong and find my default emotion to be guilt. This book just made me feel a bit more confident and a bit less guilty. So I liked it :)

YY to The Pause nomoreheels. Am going to try it with DS but it might be a bit late

He sounds like my DH

OP - The premise of the book is that, compared to French mums, Brit mums are crap at being parents and their children are yobbettes. With such a premise, you aren't going to get a civil discussion on the subject matter from the 'crap' mums :o (even though the book has some valid points)

Worra...........you take your DH to restaurants?

Braver than me....if he's been good I whizz him throught the drive-thru and let him eat in the car

Pusheed I didn't like the author at all - I thought there was a reason none of the other mums spoke to her mcuh or sat with her in the park (and it was nothing to do with them being French :) ) I thought the way it was written was bad, but a lot of what was said was good IYSWIM

Well I think probably YANBU, I haven't read the book but seen lots of excerpts and we are probably doing a lot of it -- DH is French and we're living in France at the mo.

I think overall it's a more old-fashioned approach to parenting, which works for me. Being here now, I can't believe there was ever a time where I felt guilty for not going to baby yoga . French parents just don't seem to do guilt, it's great.

Could someone enlighten me as to what the Pause is?

15 weeks!

(french)

The Pause is just simply waiting a little while before picking up your baby - to determine if they really do need picking up becuase they actually are hungry / distressed etc or whether they will self settle.

It doesn't advocate leaving them if they are crying or leaving them for more than a couple of minutes, but suggest we often wake babies by rushing to pick them up and would do more good observing them for a minute to understand exactly what is going on and then acting if it is actually required.

I agree with the "old fashioned" approach. A lot of it is just what my mum did so I don't think it is uniquely French. But the lack of guilt is just so refreshing

Lol lol lol at your fifteen WEEK old baby sitting nicely in restaurants - and the rest... Wait till you hit the later months, especially around 14-22 months and come back and read what you have written

Give it time op... Give it time

Fwiw my toddlers are not so bad in restaurants as we are quite strict on good manners, no screeching etc, but it's hard to have a relaxing meal out with a two year old and a four year old...

Oh and I think the book has some interesting parts but I don't agree with their lack of interest in breastfeeding or their dismissal at it's importance - and sadly that is becoming more and more common here too...