Fascinating article, definitely food for thought: “Why French Parents are Superior”. The American author, living in France, is analyzing her own parentings styles, comparing her experiences of child rearing with that of French mothers surrounding her and pinpointing to the downsides of American approach. Here is a summary of her new book:

Pamela Druckerman’s new book “Bringing Up Bebe,” catalogs her observations about why French children seem so much better behaved than their American counterparts. Pamela Druckerman’s new book “Bringing Up Bebe,” catalogs her observations about why French children seem so much better behaved than their American counterparts.

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I do. I really hate to say the word “NO!” Yet I don’t believe in anarchy – saying “yes” all the time is just as troublesome. Or even dangerous! How do you say yes to a kid, who is about to run over a busy intersection? How do you say “yes” to a toddler who is about to sample some household chemicals into his mouth? How could I say “yes” to my own two year old who got very upset that I did not allow him to cut my tablecloth with scissors?

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As much we dislike it, we absolutely SHOULD talk to our kids about sex. Unless, of course, you prefer some Mr. Know-All enlighten your innocent little one on a school bus. Here you can find some suggestions and resources that I could find on this topic.

My friend just shared a fantastic story about her own kid:

My friend’s 7 year old, Jacob, comes home from school, rushes over to mom and screams excitedly: “Mom, where did I come from?”

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Now there is a scientific evidence, that concentrating on positive feedback with our little ones works better then pointing out their mistakes!

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A kid easily succeeds with another task that leaves his peers struggling. Parents, beaming with pride, praise the kid by telling him, that he is talented, he is gifted. Praise is good, right? Not necessarily. As a parent who believes that praise is a very important and integral part of learning, of building confidence, I can see more and more that some types of praise can do more damage then good. Have you noticed, how sometimes “talented and gifted” kid can shy away from a difficult assignment, whose grades can even suddenly drop and he can lose all the interest in school, in work, in new accomplishments? Is it the school being too tough? Or should we blame the way we were praising this kid, how we present their learning process to them, how their self-image effects their undertaking of difficult assignments?

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I found this article waaaay too important to provide everyone with just a link. You can find more information published in other resources at the end of the article. The original article is published in National Post (Canada).
Dr. Stephen Juan, National Post, Monday, October 30, 2006

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