There’s something you need to know about France. If it’s not Fashion Week, it is certainly the vacances scolaires. One of the big kickers about raising kids in France is the 2-week vacation every 6 weeks (yes, you read that correctly). If you have a full-time salaried job with compatible vacation time and a few willing and able grandparents, it’s a joy. For the rest of us, it’s patchwork of daycare, backup babysitters, a little leeway and a lot of working till midnight. My husband forgot to reserve a spot at the school’s daycare so I took the hit this time around that’s why you haven’t heard from me recently. Nonetheless in the spirit of raising tiny tots in France, I am sharing an illustrated roundup of the difference between French and American babies from the archives.
What are the sweeping, generalized differences between parenting in these two countries? France has a better social safety net: subsidized daycares and preschool starts at 3. Parenting methods are much more traditional and old-school “I’m the parent, I decide”. But it’s changing. Like most modern imports, gentle parenting is a hot topic issue in France. A baby is an addition to a family but doesn’t completely transform the home into a Playskool playhouse. But I’ll let you take it from here…
Take good care, dear reader. And don’t drink the watercolor water. -jkw