6 French Parenting Tips to bring up well-behaved kids

French Parenting is considered great at producing well-behaved kids. Learn 6 French Parenting tips to bring up well- behaved kids

There are so many parenting styles, that if you start reading up on them you will be surprised. Now, I don’t consider any one single parenting style pitch-perfect but like to take the goods from different styles. If you are with me on this, let’s look at some goods of French Parenting Style.

Wait, what? French Parenting? I have heard only French Fry! What is this thing?

Did you know it is considered that the French mostly have well-behaved kids? French parents have well-behaved kids because they look after themselves first. Self-care anyone? French kids are known to throw fewer tantrums, the kids sleep through the night at two months, they are not picky eaters, and the moms are chilled and chic! Sounds out of this world, right?

Now French Parenting is strict and stringent. They are authoritarian parents and their state education system follows that.

For example, French parents let their kids cry for longer hours to teach them how to comfort themselves! I am not a follower of this. I don’t think this is how I want to be with my son. If he’s crying I need to know why he’s crying, and I should be there to comfort him.

But there are some great things too which I practice. Let’s see the good of French Parenting. Here are some French Parenting Tips to bring up well-behaved kids.

6 French Parenting Tips to bring up well-behaved kids

French Kids are allowed to do difficult things themselves

From a toddler stage, French parents encourage kids to do things on their own. This boosts confidence in kids and teaches them grit. They eat on their own, small children are allowed to make their own non-fire cooking food (e.g. sandwich, peanut butter jelly sandwich).

French Kids are taught to sleep on their own quite early in their life

If I learned something good from French Parenting, it is making your toddler sleep through the night!

My son started sleeping through the night 8 hours straight from day 30! Lucky me? I figured out, when he’s well-fed, and had drier diapers he “slept like a baby”. I stuck to a schedule, got the room dark with a night lamp on only even when he had to sleep during the day, changed his diapers once in 5 hours in his sleep and he was okay with it.

I literally have not had a sleepless night since he competed 1-month age. But I did some singing for him.

French parents allow kids to soothe themselves and don’t jump to help at the first moment. They stick to a schedule from early on and make the infant sleep routine a practice. They don’t rock babies to sleep, or use pacifiers.

Polite Manners Are Non-Negotiable

The French society considers kids to be little humans that can be molded and formatted! They teach manners from a very early stage. French in general are quite polite with good manners, so the kids pick up faster. There is no way a French child can escape a “bonjour” (greeting others). Eye contact, social manners, polite hellos are taught to French kids from very early on.

I have taught my son how to do ‘namaste’, how to touch feet and do ‘pronam’ (Bengali word) – he does this with his grandparents only. He also greets everyone with a hello or a hi.

And his answer for everyone asking him How are you is “I am very fine, thank you”. This I have not taught, he heard his dad talking over the phone and the line has just stuck with him!

French kids also wait patiently for the food to come at a restaurant or a café. Culture matters.

French Food Habits – No picky eater in France

French kids eat everything, there are no picky eaters! My son was a major picky eater which now I have reversed!

French kids are given three meals a day and one small evening snack at 4 pm. That’s it – no snacking or munching in between! They don’t have the concept of munchies and snacking at any given point of the day! French parents discourage eating any snack. They are okay with kids feeling hungry in between meals so that they eat “real food” at the time of the next meal! Their snack includes sliced cucumbers, green beans or carrot salad! Yes, they are strict with food.

They eat family meals together, eat veggies and don’t throw tantrum over food. In France, they introduce vegetables first as baby food. Food is never used as a bribe, reward or punishment.

Self-Play, firm boundaries and Free Time

French moms take their lives seriously, they like their freedom. They don’t get overwhelmed with motherhood. They practice self-care, they are always chic –dedicated to fashion, and they enjoy spending time with their spouse, friends – and not just stick to the sides of their kids. They do not lose their own identity after child birth.

How do they do that?

French parents want their kids stimulated and guided but not all the time. They allow free playtime for their kids. They let kids be happy with themselves. They believe children need to learn to be alone and cope with frustration and find out creativity with their time.

No means No

All mothers want this – across the world. French moms don’t cave in, they stick to their NO. A child will say no, throw a tantrum, but French parents don’t budge. It makes children patient, calm, equable even when he doesn’t get all that he wants.

Did you like these French Parenting Tips for well-behaved kids? Do you practice something similar to these? Let me know in the comments below.

I am sharing Parenting hacks for Millennial Moms on this Season of A to Z Challenge. Adding the post links as I post them.
A – Amazing Moms
B-Boys -What Boys Need from their moms
C –  How to be a calm mom
D – Discipline kids without yelling
E – Raising Emotionally healthy Kids

Until next time.

Cheers.

Xoxo

Tina.