French Kids Eat Everything

Sinnie · Post by **Sinnie** » Sun Jul 07, 2013 2:37 pm

I think this book has been mentioned on here before, but I wanted to bring it back to your attention. I am currently reading it as I am now three months pregnant so I am hoping to gain some knowledge for the future - I don't want to raise a picky eater who doesn't like veggies or try new things like so many kids I know.

It's an AMAZING testament to No S. Even if you don't have kids, check it out for its connection to No S. According to this book, the French are insanely adamant about the no snacking rule. Having said that, the no sweets and seconds are not quite as obvious but are taken care of as a side effect. Their portions are often served in courses but much smaller and treats are only occasionally (maybe a couple times a week, with dessert often including fruit as a last course). There is no change to this on the weekend. It's every day, day in, day out, because it helps derive PLEASURE from food. The quote we use here "hunger is the best sauce" is mentioned in some french form.

It's astounding how passionate the French are about this pattern of eating. It's like gospel to them. I think it was Anoulie who mentioned on this board about the commercial with the caption about snacking being bad for your health when advertising snack foods - yup, it's true - the author talks about this commercial.

They are not super strict necessarily in the sense of, say, a very late dinner (if they usually eat between 7:30-8pm and this particular dinner will be well after 9pm) they will have a small snack. Kids have a gouter (small meal/snack) after school so they eat 4 times a day. Adults usually skip that. Those cafes you see full of Parisians eating baguette...no....those are typically tourists or foreigners

They may have an espresso but dare not wreck their appetites!

I feel a little overwhelmed at times reading this because it is very hard to implement in our culture (me being Canadian). We don't have the 2 hour stretch for lunch, our daycares do not teach food etiquette and table manners and slow eating etc nevermind having three course meals for toddlers. (The French consider food a social equalizer because EVERYBODY has access to the same thing and no matter what education you have you could easily keep up at a 5 star restaurant). But, I figure even if we just teach our kids to try everything, encourage variety and no snacking that is a loooong way from the current fishy crackers and pasta every darn day.

I could go on and on. Borrow the book from your library - it's a great read.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sun Jul 07, 2013 6:15 pm

One of the lessons I took away from that book (in addition to all you mentioned) is that the goal isn't to get kids to like all foods, but to accept eating foods without complaint. They're not going to like everything, not everything will be a favorite, but they will eat (nearly) everything they are served. I think it's mentioned in that book and I know I've read it elsewhere, but in France it's considered extremely bad manners not to eat what you're served.

Another is that you just keep offering foods until the kids accept eating it. You don't just offer it a few times and eliminate it because "they don't like it."

When I was reading French Kids Eat Everything, Le Billon told of a rather heated conversation at a dinner party one night. They were discussing gastronomie and how Americans seem to believe that
only the middle class and the wealthy have access to (or are entitled to) good food and to eat well. In France, everyone eats well -- good food is for everyone, no matter rich or poor. Which is at least part of the reason why the French school lunches sound like something Americans would eat at a high end restaurant. The wealthy and not-so-wealthy eat the same foods, the biggest difference is that the wealthy may eat more of it. I've read much the same about eating in Italy.

If you enjoyed that, you might also enjoy Pamela Druckerman's Bringing up BÃ©bÃ© and BÃ©bÃ© Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting. They both deal with more parenting issues than food, but are interesting reads. Funny thing about me reading these books is that my kids are in their 30s and there are no grandchildren or any on the way.

Oh, if you're thinking ahead to feeding your baby solid foods (congratulations, by the way) you might want to read The Wednesday Chef: Cooking for Hugo There are many "correct" ways to feed a baby.

Rea · Post by **Rea** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 12:21 am

Bringing Up Bebe reminded me of dealing with my european relatives. I never snack when I'm over there and always lose at least a kilo (the added walking also helps). The kids do well not snacking when we're over there because they're always so busy. Besides, in the afternoon...there's cake time and they're fed way more sweets than they ever get in the States on a weekday anyway

But dealing with the stress of every meal them pointing out how picky one or both of my kids are and how they don't eat everything is unbelievably stressful.

leafy_greens · Post by **leafy_greens** » Mon Jul 08, 2013 1:35 pm

It was frustrating to read about Karen's futile attempt to change her child's daycare menu. I don't have children but I will glance over the kid's menu and see that they are only offered chicken nuggets and burgers. No wonder kids grow up to hate vegetables. They are not even offered vegetables on the kid's menu.

Changing the school lunch menus could happen if our culture were not so lazy. The head of Karen's day care didn't even want to attempt it and came up with all kinds of excuses for why it couldn't be done. It feels like being a non-snacker in a Snacking Culture is fighting a losing battle.

As an adult, it's easier to assert your diet and say no to snacks (although there are definitely some minefields out there in social gatherings.) But teaching a child who doesn't know better in a culture like ours is extremely hard to do.

joasia · Post by **joasia** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 1:28 pm

I saw it when I lived overseas in Poland. Polish kids ate what the adults ate. period. Of course I was there in the late 90s. Before fast food and junk food had fully hit the scene. In the town I lived in, there weren't any fast food restaurants. Most everybody cooked and ate at home. Three meals a day, not much snacking. And I walked everywhere. I came back to the states 10 pounds lighter.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 2:27 pm

leafy_greens wrote:It was frustrating to read about Karen's futile attempt to change her child's daycare menu. I don't have children but I will glance over the kid's menu and see that they are only offered chicken nuggets and burgers. No wonder kids grow up to hate vegetables. They are not even offered vegetables on the kid's menu.

Changing the school lunch menus could happen if our culture were not so lazy. The head of Karen's day care didn't even want to attempt it and came up with all kinds of excuses for why it couldn't be done. It feels like being a non-snacker in a Snacking Culture is fighting a losing battle.

As an adult, it's easier to assert your diet and say no to snacks (although there are definitely some minefields out there in social gatherings.) But teaching a child who doesn't know better in a culture like ours is extremely hard to do.

I don't think it had a lot to do with laziness, necessarily, but certainly different ways of looking at the whole issue. And lots of varying opinions on what each person's child should/could eat. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that there's no one unifying food culture either in terms of what we eat or when we eat it (snacking vs no snacking). Also, an entirely different view of the purpose of education (learning about food and eating well is generally not considered part of education in North America).

Snacking was a little problematic when my kids were little, but it's a big problem now. Most of the snacks qualify as treats.

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 3:27 pm

Many daycares food assistance from the USDA, the same organization that oversees the school lunch program. That ship is sloooooooowly turning.

joasia · Post by **joasia** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 3:37 pm

Some of it is laziness. But I think a lot of it is lifestyle. When I lived overseas, I was forced to walk a lot more. I couldn't afford to own a car. And, small European towns are designed very differently than American towns. In the town I lived in, everything was walking distance, the store, post office, bank, etc. Here in California, where I live now, the nearest store is miles away. It is just a different lifestyle. That is not to say that we can't incorporate some European habits, like 3 meals and day etc, but it takes a little more effort and planning here.

TigerCrane · Post by **TigerCrane** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:58 am

My mom always used to say, "you don't have to like it, you just have to eat it."

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:01 am

TigerCrane wrote:My mom always used to say, "you don't have to like it, you just have to eat it."

Are you my kid? I think the goal of the French isn't that kids will like all foods, but that they will accept eating them. Of course, in France it's considered exceedingly bad manners not to eat what you are served.