Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

Okay, yes, this is sort of a parenting book, and perhaps not the type of book that you’d generally just pick up off the shelf, but it’s a really interesting read, whether or not you’re a parent. (Of course, since I am a parent, that’s easy enough for me to say – I’m game for pretty much anything that might make my kid more awesome.)

Pamela Druckerman was an American journalist living in Paris when she and her British husband started their family. Druckerman was immediately struck by the differences she saw between American and French parenting, and the resulting kids from each of those styles. French kids seemed, in general, to be calmer, less prone to tantrums, and to eat the same meals as everyone else (the concept of the “kids meal” being practically non-existent there.) American kids, on the other hand, are often more outspoken and confident in school, and… um, that might have been the only plus about American kids.

The book really isn’t anti the way we raise our kids in America, however. It shows both the pros and the cons of the French styles, and lets the reader make their own decision about what we might deem “good” or “bad”. Some things I’d steal from the French in a heartbeat (wine list in my hospital room? Well, hello!) and others I’m less inclined to take part in, like what Druckerman refers to as “The Pause,” where French parents wait for up to 15 minutes before tending to their crying infants, to try to understand what they need.

All in all, this was an interesting read, and I learned not only some new techniques I might try when my little one gets older, but also cultural differences between French and American adults that stem from the way we as a society raise our children.

Find and reserve this book in our catalog.

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman

So, you had your 2.2 kids and read all the right books, listened to all the right experts, and now you’re an expert too, right?  Think again.  After raising four children (only one left to put through college) and sitting down to read an adult book or two, I thought there would be nothing new for me to learn about the joys and tortures of parenthood.  And then I read NurtureShock by Po Bronson (author of What Should I Do With My Life?) and Ashley Merryman.

This book will challenge everything you thought you knew about raising children.  This is not a book that proposes the “right way” to raise a child, but rather presents the facts about how the current school of thought on child-rearing actually works (or doesn’t).  And just as Steven Levitt accomplishes in his book Freakonomics, which challenges commonly held beliefs on economic issues, Bronson and Merryman support their assertions with reams of research and the results of studies conducted world-wide.

Who would have thought that the more you praise a child, the lower their confidence level?  Or that an extra hour of sleep may be better for your kid’s IQ than an extra hour of studying?  And if your argumentative teen makes you want to pull your hair out, don’t—the alternative is even worse.  All this, and more, is waiting for you inside the covers of this intriguing book.

The issues covered in NurtureShock concern children at all stages of development, from infancy to the teen years, so all parents are sure to find these insights interesting.  But even non-parents will be fascinated by the science behind the information—think of all the fun you’ll have advising your parenting friends and family on what they are doing wrong!  Parents love advice from their childless friends . . . Don’t they?

Find and reserve this book in our online catalog.