nakedsushi's review
2.0
2.5 stars, but who's counting?
This book could have been shorter if it was edited better to cut down on the repetition. It seemed like every chapter contained at least a couple introduction pages about the family's situation in France and French culture. It gets pretty tiring reading the same thing over and over again.
While it was interesting to read about the differences in food culture between France and North America, I had no sympathy for the woman writing this book. It was her idea to uproot her family from Vancouver and move to the small village in rural France her husband grew up in despite his not wanting to return there. Then when she gets there, she becomes some whiny, complaining person who can't seem to adapt to being in the country of "her choice."
More specifically, she goes on for chapters about how hard it was to get her kids to eat the "French way" but I just thought she wasn't trying hard enough. Instead of educating her children about tasting things they may be scared of, she gives in to their crying and whining and pretty much let them choose what they eat for the better part of a year in France. Then she has some magical revelation (No shit, Sherlock) that changing her kids eating habits means she first has to change her bad habits of 1.) not rushing everyone through family meal times, 2.) hovering over her kids in a cloud of food anxiety, and 3.) being more open to trying new foods HERSELF. Seriously, this was a woman who had to have her (now) husband cut up her fish for her when dining with his parents for the first time because she didn't know how to eat fish??
It's not like there wasn't anything useful in the book. There were some useful things that I would probably want to do if I ever have kids like the "no snacking between meals" rule and the "you don't have to like it, but you do have to taste it" rule. It's just that even though this woman was writing about these things, she wasn't trying very hard at practicing them.
If I sound frustrated writing this review, it's because I'm frustrated at that woman. In fact, I skipped the last chapter which featured her "recipes" that helped her win her kids over to eating better. I skipped it because I didn't want to waste my time reading the recipes of some person who spent most of her life not appreciating food.
This book could have been shorter if it was edited better to cut down on the repetition. It seemed like every chapter contained at least a couple introduction pages about the family's situation in France and French culture. It gets pretty tiring reading the same thing over and over again.
While it was interesting to read about the differences in food culture between France and North America, I had no sympathy for the woman writing this book. It was her idea to uproot her family from Vancouver and move to the small village in rural France her husband grew up in despite his not wanting to return there. Then when she gets there, she becomes some whiny, complaining person who can't seem to adapt to being in the country of "her choice."
More specifically, she goes on for chapters about how hard it was to get her kids to eat the "French way" but I just thought she wasn't trying hard enough. Instead of educating her children about tasting things they may be scared of, she gives in to their crying and whining and pretty much let them choose what they eat for the better part of a year in France. Then she has some magical revelation (No shit, Sherlock) that changing her kids eating habits means she first has to change her bad habits of 1.) not rushing everyone through family meal times, 2.) hovering over her kids in a cloud of food anxiety, and 3.) being more open to trying new foods HERSELF. Seriously, this was a woman who had to have her (now) husband cut up her fish for her when dining with his parents for the first time because she didn't know how to eat fish??
It's not like there wasn't anything useful in the book. There were some useful things that I would probably want to do if I ever have kids like the "no snacking between meals" rule and the "you don't have to like it, but you do have to taste it" rule. It's just that even though this woman was writing about these things, she wasn't trying very hard at practicing them.
If I sound frustrated writing this review, it's because I'm frustrated at that woman. In fact, I skipped the last chapter which featured her "recipes" that helped her win her kids over to eating better. I skipped it because I didn't want to waste my time reading the recipes of some person who spent most of her life not appreciating food.
heidimrogers's review
5.0
I've sworn off parenting books, but this is less a parenting book than a personal look at the differences between how the French and North Americans (author is Canadian) treat food. It was a fascinating and enjoyable read. Although she has research to back up her own account, I loved her stories about her life in France for a year.
We've implemented just a few of her strategies so far, and already I see a bit of a difference in how my older son eats.
We've implemented just a few of her strategies so far, and already I see a bit of a difference in how my older son eats.
mjsteimle's review
5.0
So interesting. I want to implement some of the French style of eating into my own life - slow down, savor food, don't eat alone.
caitlynmefford's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. Read on recommendation from a friend and did not hate but didn’t love. At the mention of a French woman choosing to ignore her hours-old baby’s cry for food because “he needs to be on a schedule” made me cringe and turned me off to the rest of the book. There were a few points here and there that were beneficial but overall I am liking Bringjng Up Bebé much better.
tresea's review
3.0
An interesting read, the author (obviously wealthy... who else can take a whole year off work and still have a job to come back to!) has some really great ideas... but you could also just read the very final chapter that summarizes the book and not bother with the narrative.
I’m glad to see that her book is getting a lot of traction with moms... I dislike our American culture of perpetual snacking.
I’m glad to see that her book is getting a lot of traction with moms... I dislike our American culture of perpetual snacking.
mckinseyf's review against another edition
4.0
A really interesting and thought provoking book. Even though I'm not a parent, I found the "food rules" in the book helpful for myself and a great starting point for learning to eat better and more intentionally. Her stories and information outline a fascinating cultural difference in food attitudes between France and the U.S. (or Canada, in her case which is, in this regard, basically the same).
As someone who was a "picky eater" as a child and never received a proper food education, I grew into an adult who viewed eating as an anxiety-inducing chore or inconvenience. But I've recently gradually begun to want to change that, and this book confirms that a lot of the common sense ideas that seem good for us, actually are. Of course, not every "rule" needs or ought to be followed to the letter, and there are times when exceptions must be made, but on the whole these rules provide an excellent guide for practicing good eating habits that teach you to savor high quality food and making eating a pleasure.
As someone who was a "picky eater" as a child and never received a proper food education, I grew into an adult who viewed eating as an anxiety-inducing chore or inconvenience. But I've recently gradually begun to want to change that, and this book confirms that a lot of the common sense ideas that seem good for us, actually are. Of course, not every "rule" needs or ought to be followed to the letter, and there are times when exceptions must be made, but on the whole these rules provide an excellent guide for practicing good eating habits that teach you to savor high quality food and making eating a pleasure.
libbydmccarthy's review
4.0
If I had to summarize the best advice I got from this book succinctly, it would be:
keep trying to give your kids new foods and assume they will eventually learn to like everything, as long as you present it to them repeatedly. (like 20 times) Request that they at least taste everything on their plate, but if they don't like it, remove it from their presence and plan to try again another day. Also, kids don't need snacks and they are the root of the problem with unhealthy eating. (THANK YOU!! I hate prepping 5 meals a day!!!) It's okay to feel hunger. Kids will eat a better meal if they are allowed to feel hungry. Serve their least favorite foods first, while they are hungry.
Overall, I liked this book. It made me feel like I'm doing more than most but I could also be doing better about getting my kids to eat a variety of foods. It made me rethink forcing kids to eat food because it's good for them, but also forced me to analyze what and how I serve my kids new foods or foods I have learned they don't like.
However, a big part of me leaves this book feeling hopeless because it seem it takes an entire community to teach children to be happy about eating a variety of new foods and that just doesn't exist in the US. In France, according to Le Billon, it is the main focus of elementary education. Lunch is a gourmet experience at school, everyone is expected to eat school lunch, and a lot of their curriculum is based around food education, in the early years. In the US, we care (or at least pretend to care) more about reading and math in the early years.
keep trying to give your kids new foods and assume they will eventually learn to like everything, as long as you present it to them repeatedly. (like 20 times) Request that they at least taste everything on their plate, but if they don't like it, remove it from their presence and plan to try again another day. Also, kids don't need snacks and they are the root of the problem with unhealthy eating. (THANK YOU!! I hate prepping 5 meals a day!!!) It's okay to feel hunger. Kids will eat a better meal if they are allowed to feel hungry. Serve their least favorite foods first, while they are hungry.
Overall, I liked this book. It made me feel like I'm doing more than most but I could also be doing better about getting my kids to eat a variety of foods. It made me rethink forcing kids to eat food because it's good for them, but also forced me to analyze what and how I serve my kids new foods or foods I have learned they don't like.
However, a big part of me leaves this book feeling hopeless because it seem it takes an entire community to teach children to be happy about eating a variety of new foods and that just doesn't exist in the US. In France, according to Le Billon, it is the main focus of elementary education. Lunch is a gourmet experience at school, everyone is expected to eat school lunch, and a lot of their curriculum is based around food education, in the early years. In the US, we care (or at least pretend to care) more about reading and math in the early years.
_dunno_'s review
3.0
There we have it: another North American moving to France and trying to shape her girls according to French food habits and all that jazz.
I am simply in love with the way the French approach eating (I'm not into French cooking though), how they teach their kids to love and appreciate food, ALL food, how schools have a major role in this teaching process and so on.
There's a lot of good info in here, especially if you're a new mom and just started diversification with your baby. Also, check out Karen's blog for more tips and tricks, recipes, etc.
I am simply in love with the way the French approach eating (I'm not into French cooking though), how they teach their kids to love and appreciate food, ALL food, how schools have a major role in this teaching process and so on.
There's a lot of good info in here, especially if you're a new mom and just started diversification with your baby. Also, check out Karen's blog for more tips and tricks, recipes, etc.