[Cincinna]

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The article is very interesting, and makes some good points about the American, mostly Yuppie urban obsession with their children. They are raising little tyrants who believe the entire universe revolves around them. 

The article over-idealizes the French way of raising children. More than half of French marriages end in divorce, if they bother to get married at all. Families usually have only one or two children by choice. Children thus don't grow up in a cooperative atmosphere where the nuclear family is the building block of a healthy & stable society.    

There has got to be a happy medium somewhere. America is raising a generation of spoiled brats taught thry are the center of the universe. They are overwhelmed by cellphones, FB, and other non age appropriate activities for young children. The French are raising their next generation of emotionally isolated individuals who look to the state instead of to God, themselves, or their families for support & strength.    

The French are incredibly self-centered, self-indulgent, and materialistic. Far more so than everyday Americans, who are people of faith and responsibility. French children are "socialized" starting at age 2 or 3 being sent to crêche or daycare. They are force toilet-trained for the convenience if the mother, not the well-being of the child.    

Little girls are taught never to trust other little girls, who they believe are always jealous. They never form the same kind of deep friendships that we do.   

The French woman's obsession with weight, appearance, and lack of spirituality encourage narcissism and selfishness in girls.  The women also smoke, and French women are the world's largest consumers of tranquilizers & sleeping pills, diet aids, etc.   

[EDINVA]

WOW! Interesting take on French woman and French families (generally).

My only experience is my daughter’s in-laws. Sweetest family EVER. Very old fashioned, more traditional French. Also, not Parisian, so that helps. Their five children are all incredibly together, respectful, courteous, fun, outdoor-y, bright (4/5 graduated from an Ivy League school, with #5 still in high school), and I’d bet my bottom dollar not one foul word ha ever crossed any of their lips. Just plain wholesome, As a family they are very close, but not suffocating. I do think it has a lot to do with the parents’ soft-spoken but firm limits and authority that isn’t exercised much in the US.

[KC_Lion]

Bravo Cincinna, you said everything I was thinking, Sadly the Moral and Cultural Rot that has infected both our country and France is being filled by Immigrants, In France Mostly Muslims, Which, if My Wife's Family are too be taken as a standard, absolutely Hate France and the French way of life, something must be done to stop the decay, but it is good we have conversations like this to get a perspective on raising the next generation.