(1) the first gem from this book was really the first rule that she discovered, which was "you are in charge of food education." the French think it's important to teach kids the proper way to prepare, cook and eat healthy food. it's as much of a life-long skill as potty training or reading, so they take as much (or more) care to teach their kids to eat well from infancy. it was really reaffirming for me in my own philosophy, to be honest, because i've been painstakingly trying to teach moses how to eat without making a mess, how to behave during mealtimes, and how to eat (and like) a variety of healthy foods. sometimes i feel like i'm being ridiculous because most popular (American) websites and books will recommend that you let your baby eat what they like, hide vegetables in their food, and give your baby complete freedom to explore their food. but you know, i made a resolute decision early on that i would not spread out a tarp under his highchair during mealtimes or have to wipe baby food off of walls. so far, i haven't had to, and moses is one of the cleanest [baby] eaters i know. another interesting thing about food education is that the French work on developing kids' palates for healthy food, so they calmly say that if a child doesn't like something, they just haven't tasted it enough times. i can't remember exactly how many times they have to taste something, but i think it's somewhere up past a dozen or more. i like that.
(2) many of the author's rules can actually be summed up by saying that the French have a loving but authoritative parenting style. they schedule the meals and menus (kids eat what adults eat), family eats together, no emotional eating, variety of vegetables, no snacking, taste everything. it seems that the French parents make the decisions and are in charge. too often, i think that kids are in charge of their eating in America, ending up with kids who only eat french fries, chicken tenders and mac and cheese. all yummy foods, to be fair, but the French seem to be doing something right when their kids are eating all kinds of vegetables and are polite and clean eaters by the time they are toddlers.
(3) French versus American attitudes toward food. there was a study that the author summarized, and i thought it was fascinating, so i'll just copy it directly:
Americans tend to be anxious about food and to identify health, nutrition and dieting as the key issues they associate with eating. The French, on the other hand, almost never mention any of these topics when as for their thoughts about food. Rather, they talk about pleasure, tasty food, socializing, culture, identity, and fun. In one of the most revealing studies, Fischler showed a picture of a chocolate cake to both American and French people and asked them for the first word that popped in their head. For Americans, the most common word was "guilt." For the French, the most common word was "celebration."
there were tons of studies and conversations that pointed to these sorts of differences. differences that made the French actually healthier eaters. i love food, and i love food in different cultures. i want to instill a healthy love of food in our precious baby too.
basically, what i've been trying to say is that i've totally bought into it. maybe we need to move to French-land.
lovelove,
moi
No comments:
Post a Comment