Two Books

[wosnes]

Over the years I've been here I've posted occasionally about the eating habits of the French. The funny thing is, I wouldn't consider myself a Francophile.

In mid-February I saw Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé interviewed on the Today Show. Druckerman is an American journalist living in Paris with her husband. Her children were born and are being raised in France. She noticed differences in the behavior of French children (and their parents), including how and what children eat. While the book isn't totally about their eating behaviors, it's mentioned in various places throughout the book and there's one chapter dedicated to children and food. There's also a little about weight gain during pregnancy and weight loss after pregnancy.

While I was looking for that book at Amazon, I also saw French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon. Her book is subtitled "How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters." She's a Canadian married to a French man and their family spent a year in his hometown in Brittany. You can read an overview of the habits and her tips for implementing them here

I've now read both books and they support the No-S habits, especially for adults. I've enjoyed and would recommend them both, but Le Billon's book may be more interesting to No-Ser's because it focuses solely on food and the habits surrounding it.

French children do have a daily after school snack (the goûter). According to both authors, adults give up the goûter, though I've read other sources that say that adults partake on occasion. Aside from the goûter, which is a planned meal, French children don't snack. While the goûter may include sweet treats, it's generally a mini-meal: bread and butter, fruit, or yogurt. But there is no random snacking for anyone.

The author of the blog Chocolate and Zucchini says, "The great thing is that there was cake to eat," recalls Clothilde Dusoulier, a French food writer. "But the flip side of the coin was that my mom would say, 'that's enough.' It was also teaching kids restraint." She recalls as a child baking with her mother nearly every weekend.

One of the things I found interesting was that both authors describe identical habits, behaviors and routines regarding children (and adults!) and food. Druckerman wrote that you will find these same habits practiced throughout France, with the only variation being slight differences in the timing of meals. French children, from the time they are about 6 months old, all eat at about 8-12-4-8 (and then go to bed).

Both authors mention something like Reinhard calls the fence around the diet (law):

Le Billon writes, "In France...eating is governed by shared social norms (les règles, or rules) about when, where, how much and how food is consumed. These rules are some of the first things that French children begin learning -- before they learn to read, or even walk and talk. The rules gently guide all aspects of eating and create a set of shared food rituals across all of France. In fact, the word gastronomie literally means "rules of the stomach" (from the Latin nomos [rules] and gastro [stomach]). But these are not ironclad, oppressive regulations; they are more like habits."

Druckerman writes about cadre: "...the French ideal of the cadre, or frame, that French parents talk about. Cadre means that kids have very firm limits. But within those limits, the kids have a lot of freedom." (This extends beyond the table.)

Druckerman mentions that bonbons can be purchased at nearly every bakery. A friend of hers will occasionally let her child pick out a bonbon when they go to the bakery in the morning, but the child has to wait until the goûter to eat it. When at the grocery, her own children will point to cookies or other treats and say "goûter?"

One of the things that would apply to us is that while adults may indulge in sweets and treats, it's always at meal time and ALL eating is done at the table. By the way, chocolate is consumed frequently and not always as a treat.

Two habits from Le Billon's book that most of us would find useful:

Avoid emotional eating. Food is not a pacifier, a distraction, a toy, a bribe, a reward or a substitute for discipline. Food is not withheld for bad behavior, either.

No snacking. It's okay to feel hungry between meals.

Children are taught from a very young age to distract themselves until it is time to eat. Adults generally don't think about snacking or eating for emotional reasons because they've been trained since infancy only to eat at mealtimes and to only eat at the table.

There are two habits that are very different from how we eat in North America and No-S. Nearly all meals are served in three or four courses, with a vegetable starter, a main course, and dessert (which is usually, but not always, fruit). No matter if one is at home, school or work, the midday meal is the main meal of the day. The evening meal, then, is a lighter meal, but still served in courses. And though their meals are three or four courses and they spend longer at the table than we do, they eat less.

There is one other major difference: food and eating are of primary importance in France. Shops and offices close by 7 PM so that everyone can be home for the evening meal.

http://www.pameladruckerman.com/

http://karenlebillon.com/

French School Lunch Menus

[Miyabi]

It helps French parents that they have the calm courage of their convictions, unlike American parents who are often insecure about feeding kids. We have two French families living in our area, and I've asked them how they get their kids to eat the variety of high-quality foods, especially fish and vegetables, that the French are known for. One of them told me that there's an old French idea that "it takes 17 years to learn to eat like a French person -" in other words, they know that if they set the example and environment, their children will eventually eat like their parents. In the meantime, since they are children, it is to be expected that they will be picky and immature, and you shouldn't be screaming at them, just soldiering serenely along and putting the good stuff in front of them at the right times.

I did find this advice helpful, especially as I watched my older child gradually turn from a white-food-only eater into an omnivore starting at around age 15, and now the younger one is doing the same. If this were built in to the culture the way it apparently is in France, we could all relax more.

[wosnes]

It helps French parents that they have the calm courage of their convictions, unlike American parents who are often insecure about feeding kids. We have two French families living in our area, and I've asked them how they get their kids to eat the variety of high-quality foods, especially fish and vegetables, that the French are known for. One of them told me that there's an old French idea that "it takes 17 years to learn to eat like a French person -" in other words, they know that if they set the example and environment, their children will eventually eat like their parents. In the meantime, since they are children, it is to be expected that they will be picky and immature, and you shouldn't be screaming at them, just soldiering serenely along and putting the good stuff in front of them at the right times.

I did find this advice helpful, especially as I watched my older child gradually turn from a white-food-only eater into an omnivore starting at around age 15, and now the younger one is doing the same. If this were built in to the culture the way it apparently is in France, we could all relax more.

Most American parents give up after their children try something 2-3 times and don't like it. Karen Le Billon used an example of teaching your children to read or toilet training. If your child doesn't "get it" after two or three times, you don't give up and say, "well, I guess they're not going to read" or "I guess they'll be in diapers when they go to school." You just keep at it until they get it. Another thing they do is introduce kids to a wide variety of tastes before they get to the stage when "no" is their favorite word.

Both authors made the point that children need to be educated to eat well, and the education starts as soon as they start eating solid foods. In addition, this education starts at home, but it's continued in the schools.

[kccc]

Both authors made the point that children need to be educated to eat well, and the education starts as soon as they start eating solid foods. In addition, this education starts at home, but it's continued in the schools.

I consider that American schools actively undermine good eating habits (at least the one my son goes to).

I agree with Miyabi - if good eating habits were built into the culture, we could all relax more. As it is, I feel as if we have to battle the culture constantly.

[Blithe Morning]

Interesting. Thanks for the lengthy review.

I've started serving fruit as a dessert at dinner. It's cut up and eaten after the main course. I don't try to virtually plate it. I don't really know why I do it other than I felt something was lacking from our meals - a finishing point, I guess.

[wosnes]

I consider that American schools actively undermine good eating habits (at least the one my son goes to).

I agree. On her web site Karen Le Billon recently reviewed a book titled Lunch Money by Kate Adamick. One of the questions the author raises is:

“Why do responsible, and even overprotective, adults place children in harm’s way in the cafeteria when they go to great lengths to protect them from harm elsewhere on school grounds? Why do we feed our children over-processed, chemical imitations of real food that over time can lead to illness and premature death?â€

The heck of it is, many of them are getting the same stuff at home.

In another article on her blog Le Billon talks about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. There's a link about how it failed miserably in Los Angeles.

I think when you take kids who are used to eating chicken nuggets, fries, burgers, hot dogs, pizza, spaghetti, tacos and burritos and suddenly start feeding them quinoa salad and whole grain bread and pasta, you're going to have a problem. I don't think the white stuff needs to be eliminated in order to serve better quality food. I also think if you start serving foods that kids are used to eating, only homemade, there's a lot better chance that the food will be accepted.

[oolala53]

I've been a teacher for 15 years and I can tell you, it's very complicated, esp. when students get to high school. I've had students who will eat nothing all day and then go to Jack in the Box after school to finally eat. The school cafeteria has a budget; Legally, they must offer something. When they offer more "healthy"fare, they lose money. When they offer pizza, burritos. and sweets, they at least break even. At least, this has been the experience so far. When we have food fairs where clubs can sell food to make money, the fruit cups and salads, even when very reasonably priced, don't sell out. Pizza, carne asada burritos, etc. do. We just don't seem to be able to dictate people's preferences, though they can be exploited. Witness the popularity of reality shows.

Our school district has gotten rid of all soda and candy in vending machines.

I don't know the answer. I just know there is no one thing that is going to work in all regions. America continues to be a social experiment.

[Sweetness]

wosnes, thanks for this, I looked at the book, French Kids Eat Everything. It makes me wish I was raised French! No S is very similar.

[bbc1372]

I read hundreds of books, but not these two.

[TUK]

Druckerman mentions that bonbons can be purchased at nearly every bakery. A friend of hers will occasionally let her child pick out a bonbon when they go to the bakery in the morning, but the child has to wait until the goûter to eat it. When at the grocery, her own children will point to cookies or other treats and say "goûter?"

This is perfectly true, and French kids happen to love this kind of rituals.

What is funny about this is that the price of one bonbon in bakeries has remained "the same" since I was a kid. It was 10 centimes (of francs) at that time, and nowadays, it is still 10 centimes (of euros). The price has been multiplied by 6.55957 between 2001 and 2002. Nowadays, when parents buy bonbons for their kids at bakeries (because of rituals) it's 1 euro tops, so about 10 small bonbons. (the price of a baguette is a bit less than 1 euro, and parents going to the bakery are here to buy 3 euros of bread and maybe 1 euro of bonbons, not the converse)

And about waiting for gouter, we are taught extremely early in our lives not to eat bonbons "before meals" (meals being in that case breakfast, lunch or dinner) "or else you won't be hungry anymore".