Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting

by Pamela Druckerman

said, “If by too much care you spare them every kind of discomfort, you are preparing great miseries for them.”

“If your child is your only goal in life, it’s not good for the child,” Danièle says. “What happens to the child if he’s the only hope for his mother?

“In general I don’t doubt whether I’m good enough, because I really think I am.”

Now that there are three kids in the house—and just two of us—creating some French cadre is even harder. But it’s also a lot more urgent. If we don’t control the kids, they’re going to control us.

They believe it’s burdensome for a child to feel that she’s the sole source of her mother’s happiness and satisfaction.