5 Truths I Learned About French Parenting from Bringing Up Bebe

October 08, 2014 by Michele Cherie in French Culture, Cultural Reflections, Parenting Books, Reflections on Parenting

Though I lived in France for a year and a half in my twenties, it wasn't until I read Pamela Druckerman's Bringing Up Bébé in 2012 that I started to gain a full picture of French parenting. Here are five general truths about French parenting that I learned from reading Bringing Up Bébé:

1. French women don't breastfeed their babies all that long, even by American standards. A few months seems to be typical, partially because the vast majority of French women return to work after several months of maternity leave. I expect I'll be nursing our seven-month-old infant when we stay in France next summer, so I'm curious if my French friends will see this as an unusually long time to breastfeed a child.

No, No, No--Not in August!

August 06, 2014 by Michele Cherie in American Culture, Cultural Reflections, French Culture

"No, no, no--not in August!" This phrase is a French joke between my husband and me. It stems from a conversation we had with a French friend when we were visiting France to attend a wedding several years ago. Our friend stated that French teachers would never return to work in August. They'd choose to go on strike rather than work in August, which is essentially national vacation month in France. (The French receive a minimum of four weeks of paid leave annually, and the majority of the French take a month for vacation in either July or August--usually the latter.)

When Americans' Ignorance of World Geography is Embarrassing

August 01, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Learning Resources, Teaching French, International Exchange, Education, Cultural Reflections

When my husband and I hosted high school exchange students, they told us about the repeated conversations they had with American students during the first few weeks of school:

American: "So you're an exchange student? That's awesome! Where are you from?"

Exchange student: "I'm from Bolivia." [or Hungary, etc.]

American: "Really? That's awesome! So . . . where's Bolivia?"

Why Bringing Up Bébé Caught Americans' Attention

July 25, 2014 by Michele Cherie in American Culture, Cultural Reflections, French Culture, Learning Resources, Parenting Books, Reflections on Parenting

Do you remember the buzz surrounding Pamela Druckerman's 2012 book Bringing Up Bébé? The subtitle was One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. The book still ranks among the top twenty parenting sold books on Amazon, currently #2 in the motherhood subcategory. After the book's release, Time magazine included Druckerman on its list of the 100 most influential people of 2012. (Upon hearing this news, her husband dryly quipped, "You're not even the most influential person in our apartment building.")

Swim Lessons: Reflecting on a Childhood Rite of Passage

June 26, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Cultural Reflections, French Culture, Reflections on Parenting

Growing up in Southern California, swimming was as integral to my summers as the guarantee of scalding my feet on hot sidewalks. My mama enrolled me in swim lessons at age four, but I clung to her leg with ferocity when I saw that lessons meant joining dozens of unfamiliar kids in the shallow end of an Olympic-sized pool. A male lifeguard tried to cajole me into joining them, but when it became apparent that I wouldn't budge, my mama gave him permission to pry me off her leg and toss me in. By the end of the summer I advanced enough to manage a mean bellyflop off the high dive.

When Camping Isn't Roughing It: Tips for A Fun Family Experience

June 14, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Cultural Reflections, Home Management, Reflections on Parenting

Friends, I just booked two nights of tent camping at a lakeside campground on Mt. Hood, so this will be our third summer in a row with a camping trip. I have many friends who simply stopped camping when they had children--after all, they didn't camp much before children, and the early years of parenting can seem rough enough. But honestly, if you haven't camped in a while, or if you haven't yet gone camping as a family, you ought to know what you're missing.

Eyes Wide Open: What Children See & Recognize

June 03, 2014 by Michele Cherie in American Culture, Contentment, Cultural Reflections, Reflections on Parenting

My five-year-old daughter and I sat in blinding sunlight yesterday and read a picture book that deeply impacted me. The Man With the Violin follows the story of little Dylan, who notices many things that his mother doesn't. One day he hears a musician in the subway playing beautiful violin music, and though he wants to stop and listen, his mama rushes him on. There's more to the story, since it's based on this American cultural experiment:

Adventure Playgrounds Outdoors: What and Why?

May 20, 2014 by Michele Cherie in American Culture, Cultural Reflections, Education, Learning Resources, Reflections on Parenting

Have you heard about adventure playgrounds? They're old news, actually. Adults started establishing such spaces in Europe in the forties because they felt children needed to opportunities to develop courage in the face of a world at war. (There are over 1,000 adventure parks for children in Europe, and more than 400 in Germany alone.) These parks are growing in popularity in the U.S. now as American parents realize that children aren't getting enough playtime outdoors and have few opportunities for play in non-landscaped settings.