Are French kids brought up differently to kids in England or were these just some super kids we met on holiday?

[XelaM]

Just returned from a boat day trip in Greece with my teen. There were a few other families there including a French family with two little kids aged five and six. Those kids were honestly some of the "toughest" (and most well-behaved) kids I have ever come across.

To start with, I have never seen kids that age swim so well. Those tiny kids were like fish - jumping from the side of the boat and swimming with zero aids in really really deep waters. We also visited some cliffs and some jumped from the cliffs into the sea (which was SO SCARY 😱) and those little kids did that as well! Even my adventurous teen said the jump from the cliffs was scary and she couldn't believe the two little kids did it.

We were also fed freshly caught sea urchin and sea potatoes (which were an acquired taste to say the least 🤣) and I was certain the kids wouldn't try them only to see those two taking one sea urchin after another with zero complaints.

They were up for anything and you never heard a single moan or complaint out of them (unlike my 14-year-old 😏). And it's not like their parents appeared strict or disinterested - they were having fun and engaged with the kids. The kids were super friendly and chatty (when spoken to by others) but otherwise completely did their own thing not bothering anyone at all.

At the end even my teen who usually has no time for little kids was impressed and commented that "those were some hard core kids" 😅 (her words).

So clearly I went wrong in my parenting somewhere 🤪 but it made me wonder - are French kids brought up differently - maybe more independent and resilient or were those some super-human robot kids? 😁

You forgot the part about how many women smoke to stay teeny tiny though so not so healthy after all.

I’m married to a Frenchman who was brought up in a French way and isn’t as addicted to UPFs as me.

and French women drink wine and eat brie throughout pregnancy while maintaining a size 6 figure, a lover and a pelvic floor like a bulldog clip.

That word "fetishise" - is it fetishising to point out that France has a lot going for it or to notice that the French seem to have a different approach to bringing up children than that generally observed in Britain?

Nobody is saying it doesn't have problems. Anyone who follows the news is aware that France has its fair share.

That doesn't negate the good points and it doesn't mean the points of different can't be compared, and praise offered where it seems fitting.

Yup. Good books.

😂😂

I read the first one but didn't know about "French parents don't give in". Is it still worth reading would you say with a 6 and 3 year old or am I already too late?

French children know how to act in the restaurant, love different foods, this is mainly because of the school canteen. From the age of three canteen food is a three course meal, starters, main meal and then dessert. There is no messing about there or they will get hauled out.
French children have long summer holidays, many get sent on colony holidays where they participate in different sports, in the mountains, country or sea. Firms by law have to have a committee enterprise which handles about 2% of the firm’s profits, they deal with social things including helping parents who work for them to send their children away.

Nah not really any better than our Brit kids, my g nephews are 6 & 9. Very well behaved and adventurous.
Their mum and dad have exposed them to everything, going to restaurants and cafes from a young age. People were always amazed that they sat so well and would always pass comments on them.

They sell gizzards in pretty much all the supermarkets where I live (midwest US). They are very much a Southern Thing. Also pig ears, snouts, trotters, sometimes smoked, sometimes not.

You hit the nail on the head when you said the parents were engaged with their children, too many parents here have their heads stuck in their phones. Head teachers and nursery managers here have to put out letters begging parents to put their phones away when they are collecting their child.

And, they are Scottish kids to boot. 😂

Yes, very much worth it.

Same source material as the first one really

I've just got back from holiday (not france) and witnessed my child be physically bullied for the first time by a couple of french kids. I was shocked as they just started on him (they were unsupervised so i told them off myself), we live in london and have never had any trouble before.

I know a lot of french adults who are perfectly normal, no better or worse than other nationalities, i also spent a summer with a french family as a teen and her friends were the same as mine, although 4pm waffle time is elite 😍

Exactly! France, its open spaces, its public services can be amazing compared to the UK, ime French children are generally speaking better behaved, are their teenagers? no i don't think so.

We cycle a lot, its fucking scary riding in France & have more near misses over there than we ever do in the UK & its the same driving in the car, despite more heavily congested roads, so its not without its faults ..... or maybe its US ????

But what i like about the French is that they take take no shit, our Government raise the retirement age to 68 and we all shrug, accept and blame people on Working Tax Credits ....... the French riot!

We put up with stuff that the french would not accept.

But what i like about the French is that they take take no shit, our Government raise the retirement age to 68 and we all shrug, accept and blame people on Working Tax Credits ....... the French riot!

So rioting is a good thing in your view?

And did it succeed in changing the retirement reforms?

I was a primary school teacher in France for 10 years. I wouldn't say they're brought up differently as such and there are definitely badly behaved children and the full spectrum of kids as you'd expect anywhere. School is definitely stricter though and there was some terrible yelling from the teachers that wouldn't be done in Scottish schools (where I teach now).

Yes we could. Here (at least on MN) if you shout at your kid for sneaking out the house at 2am you’re an abusive parent. No wonder there are so many people with really poor parenting skills.

European kids in general seem to be far better behaved than British kids.

Some of this was just these kids - some small children do a lot of swimming, in the sea a lot and outdoors activities. My similar age DC were also shocking others by jumping off the top of a boat in Greece and swimming through challenging conditions this summer when others including a group of students weren’t brave enough to do so and my DCs made it look easy - but that’s because they are in the sea very regularly at home too

I was an exchange student in France when I was a very young teen. I can tell you that back then French children were not a bit better behaved, they were just better at hiding their bad behaviour from the adults. 😅

I love France.

Anyway, I concur with an earlier poster about how the teachers etc are ,much more strict. We are fortunate enough at the Dcs school to have a simply terrifying French teacher. She's aged about 30 and hands out detentions for the children getting the spelling of a word wrong in tests. She;s brutal and my older DS (aged 14 and with ASD and other SEN) adores her because the parameters are very very clear. She also apparently indulges in long and extensive rants in French about - I have no idea what.

DS's dream is to go to the Sorbonne and he is saving hard to rent an apartment in Paris. I'm all for it.

I love France.

Anyway, I concur with an earlier poster about how the teachers etc are ,much more strict. We are fortunate enough at the Dcs school to have a simply terrifying French teacher. She's aged about 30 and hands out detentions for the children getting the spelling of a word wrong in tests. She;s brutal and my older DS (aged 14 and with ASD and other SEN) adores her because the parameters are very very clear. She also apparently indulges in long and extensive rants in French about - I have no idea what.

DS's dream is to go to the Sorbonne and he is saving hard to rent an apartment in Paris. I'm all for it.

I think French education features a lot of wrote learning and a formal style?
Maybe there is a shred of respect left for adults in authority?

( rightly or wrongly)

I'm British and live in France.

A lot of people in the south have pools and the kids generally get more chances at swimming than British kids.

My two boys who are 4 and 6 eat all sorts for school dinner at their French school and in turn will eat pretty much anything. Which is great.

We threw a birthday party part for our boys and the little boys at the party were soooo badly behaved. I feel a bit smug that my didn't join in. 😂

So I reckon you just met some well behaved French children