French Kids Eat Everything: Fascinating Book about Resolving Picky Eating

[Peek-a-boo]

Anybody read it or heard of it?

It just came out.  I've seen it promoted on a few blogs and checked it out from the library.  Fascinating! 

I'm only a few chapters in, but it is fascinating and very challenging.

[Mama2boys]

care to share a summary?

[Peek-a-boo]

Here's the blog I saw it on with a summary of the 10 rules:

http://outoftheboxfood.com/2012/04/29/french-kids-eat-everything-giveaway/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=french-kids-eat-everything-giveaway


What stands out to me so far is that you don't give choices/options--ever at any meal it seems.  All food is eaten at the table, together--always--with a table cloth, so eating has a sense of occasion. 

Will write more later. 

[babymunkey]

Really interesting - i just had a read and I'm actually feeling a bit smug!! I can honestly say we manage at least 7 out of the 10 most of the time.

The ones we're really guilty of are emotional eating and snacking As a Mum and an emotional eater myself, I definitely have done this if he's had a big bang or fall - here have a biscuit to cheer you up. And I am a terrible snacker - I try to avoid H seeing me, and we try to restrict him to a scheduled snack morning and pm.

[Lemonthyme]

I don't think there's anything ground breaking there.  Only problems we have is my son naps from 11:45/12 ish till 1:30/2 and would be starving if we put him down before food so lunch does tend to be early, I do eat it with him though.  But teatime is impossible.  He eats around 4:30ish and my husband is rarely back from work before 7 (when he's in bed) so it's an admirable aim to eat all meals together but it can't always happen.

I do agree at eating similar foods.  The same food might be a stretch for some people and, especially because we eat at different times for tea, we don't always eat the same then but I do think there are some families who will feed fish fingers and smiley faces for every meal which can't be good.

This isn't a preserve of French people though but having heard a bit more about it, it seemed like French kids are less indulged in all ways which isn't necessarily a good thing.  My son is a child and he can be a child.  I will offer him adult foods but I don't mind it if he doesn't fancy trying an olive yet I feel quite smug and pleased when he happily chomps away on Stilton.  I don't think coercing him to try an olive will make him a better or worse person tbh.

But then I hate anything with 'rules'!

[Peek-a-boo]

The list doesn't look groundbreaking, I agree.  However, reading the book--it's written memoir fashion--and experiencing along with the author (from Canada) her gradual discovery of the way that the French handle meal time both for children and adults is fascinating and (for me) is totally groundbreaking. 

I don't get the feeling there's coercion; there is just much less catering to the kids, much more structured meal time rituals, and a general positive attitude toward food variety--and a confidence (conveyed to the kids) that they will like a variety of foods--if not today someday.

I'm definitely adopting some of the ideas from the book. 

 

it seemed like French kids are less indulged in all ways

Yes, the book suggests this as well.  It also sounds like their "schedule" mentality with food contributes to very low breastfeeding rates. 

Overall, however, the attitude of the French culture toward food seems SO much healthier and so much more ideal than it is in the culture that surrounds me. 

[Mama2boys]

so obviously i have not read the book, but the 10 rules don't seem ground breaking and to be honets we probably do most, except for etaing together all the time.

weekends we eat together but weekdays the kids are on their won scheudle, every now and then we get lunch together but its what works for us.

Also I think its easy to hang on to the success stories IYKWIM, both DS1 and DS2 are offeed same meals, have been treate dthe same way etc except that DS2 nursed till 15 months and DS1 till about 9/10, and DS1 is the easy eater and DS2 is an absolute PITA when it come sto food, he would rather go hungry than even taste some stuff agreed he just turned 2 but.....

[Mom to M&M]

I've been reading summaries and reviews of the book as well. And it IS interesting but I think hard to apply here in totality, partly because our kids don't have school lunches like they do in France - which are tasty, healthy and wonderful with no other options! And we still do have snacks - my kids get too cranky and hungry without them and then eat worse. But only 1-2 a day tops and healthy ones.

I still believe a lot of it is personality too - my DD is a super good eater and my DS super picky...

[Peek-a-boo]

I agree that it's hard to duplicate this here because it's a whole societal attitude and habit.  And while I agree that personality definitely plays a role, I think that habits and a food culture as described in the book do a lot to reduce that influence of individual personality.

I feel like I'm not doing the book justice in my summary of it.  Perhaps I just come from an area with a very dysfunctional culture around food, but I found the contrast to how the French manage things stark and fascinating.

[Mom to M&M]

I find it fascinating too Bethany! It's interesting in general - how French tend to see food. Like I come from a culinary background and while French chefs are generally VERY technically trained and skilled, they tend to be less creative than American chefs (who in turn sometimes sacrifice some technique to be creative).

[Mama2boys]

see i come from a culture where people really live for food, meals are a process and lifestyle, but living in the US, makes it all so mechanical.... so i might actually try and read this book and see how different worlds work.

[Peek-a-boo]

see i come from a culture where people really live for food, meals are a process and lifestyle, but living in the US, makes it all so mechanical.... so i might actually try and read this book and see how different worlds work.

One of the things I love about the French mentality as described in the book is that meals are long and luxurious--not because they are eating so much food but because meals are inherently social and relational.  Everyone relaxes, chats, connects.  It sounds so lovely.  She says that meals there typically last an hour.  Even at Thanksgiving I don't think our meals last an hour! 

That's one of my goals right now is to slow down our meals, really focus on joyful conversation with the kids with the hope of making it a relaxing highlight of the day. 

[~inbalance~]

One of the things I love about the French mentality as described in the book is that meals are long and luxurious--not because they are eating so much food but because meals are inherently social and relational.  Everyone relaxes, chats, connects.  It sounds so lovely.  She says that meals there typically last an hour.  Even at Thanksgiving I don't think our meals last an hour!

This is how DH and I have always liked to enjoy our meals.  Not sure if we've tried to do it much with the kids, but I can see how it is a very positive thing and helps build a love of eating, kwim?

I remember reading something about this topic in our paper not too long ago.  It was an article along the same lines, not sure if it was related to the book but I'm sure somehow it was.

Very fascinating topic.  I have two picky eaters and I know I am very much guilty of letting them snack, but actually they are getting much better and some of the things we do is I don't offer multiple choices for meals and we eat everything as a family, so if they don't eat what I make they don't get something else.  It's the snacks I have to work on. 

[Mom to M&M]

See I won't give up the snacks because they are a main source of DS' nutrition - he eats things like roasted chickpeas and pistachio nuts for snacks that are often as healthy or healthier than what he eats for meals! But he only gets one snack a day on non-school days - that one is after his nap around 2:30/3 pm, with dinner around 6pm. Well he does get a bedtime snack too - usually fruit (declined), cereal (healthy only) or my homemade breakfast cookies (with tofu and all). On school days they get a fruit and cracker snack around 10 am.

[jennandsophie]

I read the book Bringing Up Bebe (I think it's called something else in the UK) by an American writer living in Paris.  She has similar observations about French kids and eating.  It's amazing the stuff they give to toddlers and preschoolers even at daycare.  They really take good fresh food seriously.  I've adopted her rule of making my DD try at least one bite of everything on her plate.