Parenting Skills: Could We Learn Something from French Mothers?

I saw a story on ABC news recently that really got me thinking about how Americans parent their children. The story was about a new book called "Bringing up Bebe," written by American mother, Pamela Druckerman, who resides in Paris, France. Druckerman shares insights on the effectiveness of French parenting skills and how they compare with American parenting. It appears the French may have the upper hand when it comes to parenting. While this will assuredly raise the neck hairs of some American mothers, I've seen too many episodes of "Supernanny" to even try to argue the point that most Americans have a handle on raising their kids.

We tend to spoil our kids from the very start.

One of the first tips we could learn from French parents is how to teach our kids patience and self-control. The French do this by making their children wait a little longer for the things that they want. It's called delayed gratification. Remember the term, you can use it the next time your three year old is standing at the refrigerator door, (or throwing herself on the kitchen floor because you didn't sprint through the living room fast enough) screaming for her apple juice.

French mothers will also wait for a few minutes before picking up a crying baby in order to help train the baby to sleep through the night at an early age. In France, babies are expected to sleep through the night as early as four months old.

Like the U.S. government, French mothers do not negotiate with terrorists.

All that extra sleep helps French mothers stand their ground when it comes to the battle of the wills. The French do not negotiate with their kids; no simply means no.

We think it's cute to call our kids "little terrors," while we try to reason with them. However, it's not so cute when a child has no respect for the word "no" by the time he or she turns 12.

One of the smartest parenting techniques mentioned in the report was the one allowed snack, "le gouter", that French children are allowed to eat around 4 PM each day. Because they're not allowed to snack all day, French children are more likely to eat what they are served at meal times.

How well would it go over in your home, if your kids were only allowed one snack per day? How much money would it save on your grocery bill?

ABC news' Robin Roberts posed the question, "Are we raising a generation of entitled children?" What do you think?