Peep, Peep, Bebe! French Hen Parenting

C'est la poulette / The Little Hen

C'est la poulette

C'est la poulette
Qui mange la galette
Elle en a tant mangé
Qu'elle s'est étouffée.

The Little Hen

This is a little chick
Who gobbles all the cake
She eats so much so quick,
That she choked by mistake.

When Alice saw Laurenjoan at the back door with the yellow cake - she ran as fast as she could. As the big and little yellow crumbs came flying out the door, Alice gobbled fast and furious.

Joanie B. was no match for Alice's speed when it came to cake (or any food for that matter). By the time Joanie B. had wobbled up, the cake was nearly gone.

Laurenjoan: Ahhh, you chickens - you eat like French kids eat -- everything!

Yes, Alice and Joanie B., are French Hen Parenting in action - they eat all their vegetables and everything else. All food is real food, is happy food. They never snack - every bit of food is a meal to them. And, they always eat together and don't let anything distract them. (See "French Food Rules" from French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon)

And, once they lay an egg - there it sits - all by itself in the nest. No guilt, no stress, Bebe, Maman has a right to a life of her own.

French mothers...love their children as much as anyone,
but don't see them as their entire life project,
to the exclusion of professional satisfaction,
adult leisure time and quality time with a spouse.
--from - Bringing up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman

C'est la Laurenjoan:

Move aside Tiger Moms -- French Parenting and French Moms are the latest in fashionable parenting-style for American parents to try on for size.

French children are known for their good manners and behavior and healthy eating. Karen Le Billon wrote an entire book on French eating expectations of their children: French Kids Eat Everything. Pamela Drucker writes intriquingly about French parenting styles in her book, Bringing up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting.

Certainly "food for thought." I know I found both Drucker and Le Billon to have gotten me to thinking...hmmm, sounds a lot like good old fashioned 1960/70's American parenting that I grew up on..."eat your vegetables," "don't interrupt," "finish your homework.."...

Even Karen Le Billon goes on to write on Huffingtonpost:

Why We Don't Need to Parent Like the French (With One Exception) by Karen Le Billon .... with traditional French parenting values: children are obliged to comply with high expectations at a young age, from table manners to cursive writing (which many French kindergarteners have mastered better than I). The result: seemingly model children.

Well - you might want to try French Parenting Style on for size - if so, try these resources available at Sant Clara County District Libraries:

Resources on French Parenting Styles

Bringing up Bébé

French Kids Eat Everything

French parenting isn't a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren't doing anything special. Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old while those of her American friends take a year or more. French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. And while her American friends spend their visits resolving spats between their kids, her French friends sip coffee while the kids play. ...French mothers assume that even good parents aren't at the constant service of their children and that there's no need to feel guilty about this... Bringing up Bébé

Combining personal anecdotes with practical tips and recipes, the author shares her observations on how the French foster healthy eating habits and good manners in babies and children, and tests ten French Good Rules for a family food revolution. French Kids Eat Everything

Also available in audio or ebook format - for download

(audio) Bringing up Bébé

(ebook) French Kids Eat Everything

And for review - if you like:

Tiger Mother in book or ebook formats

(book) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

(ebook) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

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Sources -

C'est la poulette song (with new English translation by Laurenjoan)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111039910/plush-art-doll-la-goulue-french-cancan