Bringing Up Bebe... By Pamela Druckerman

An interesting book just came out...

Here is a bit of what is inside...

1. You can have a grown-up life, even if you have kids. Pamela writes: "The French have managed to be involved with their families without becoming obsessive. They assume that even good parents aren't at the constant service of their children, and that there is no need to feel guilty about this. 'For me, the evenings are for the parents,' one Parisian mother told me. 'My daughter can be with us if she wants, but it's adult time.' "

2. You can teach your child the act of learning to wait. Pamela writes: "It is why the French babies I meet mostly sleep through the night…Their parents don't pick them up the second they start crying, allowing the babies to learn how to fall back asleep. It is also why French toddlers will sit happily at a restaurant. Rather than snacking all day like American children, they mostly have to wait until mealtime to eat. (French kids consistently have three meals a day and one snack around 4 p.m.) A [French mother] Delphine said that she sometimes bought her daughter Pauline candy. (Bonbons are on display in most bakeries.) But Pauline wasn't allowed to eat the candy until that day's snack, even if it meant waiting many hours."

3. Kids can spend time playing by themselves, and that's a good thing. Pamela writes: "French parents want their kids to be stimulated, but not all the time...French kids are—by design—toddling around by themselves....'The most important thing is that he learns to be happy by himself,' [a French mother] said of her son....In a 2004 study...the American moms said that encouraging one's child to play alone was of average importance. But the French moms said it was very important."

4. Believe it when you tell your child "No." Pamela writes: "Authority is one of the most impressive parts of French parenting—and perhaps the toughest one to master. Many French parents I meet have an easy, calm authority with their children that I can only envy. When Pauline [a French toddler] tried to interrupt our conversation, Delphine [her French mother] said, "Just wait two minutes, my little one. I'm in the middle of talking." It was both very polite and very firm. I was struck both by how sweetly Delphine said it and by how certain she seemed that Pauline would obey her...I gradually felt my "nos" coming from a more convincing place. They weren't louder, but they were more self-assured."

-Blue Eyes and I are at the finish line with the raising of our four peeps. There are a few things we pretty much stuck too during that time.

1. Sometimes the answer is just,  "No."   I always knew when I was saying "yes" to much to our peeps.  If I needed to say no about something, and they wouldn't accept it, it was a red flag for me to say no more often.
2. They were always held accountable for their actions.  Very seldom did they get a "free pass" when they had made bad choices.
3. Always look after, and set a good example for your younger sibling. God put you in this birth order for a reason.
4. Don't ever be disrespectful to your Father.  I just never stood for it.  Ever.  I still don't.  Their Dad works too hard, sacrifices too much, would jump in front of a moving car for anyone of them for any level of disrespect.  
5. People's feelings are more important then things.
6. We will always back you up if you talk to people respectfully.

      And finally...
   
     7.  The world doesn't revolve around them.  My peeps know that we love them UNCONDITIONALLY.
         But they also know that they have to be considerate, thoughtful, respectful, and live with those around
           them.
We didn't read many how to books when we raised our kids.  This one looks so interesting. We made many mistakes along the way like most parents do.  But, I can say that all four of our children are good people, and Blue Eyes and I are very blessed.

Hugs From My Heart