When her first child was born, Pamela Druckerman expected to spend the next several years frantically meeting her daughter’s demands. In the U.S., after all, mealtimes, living rooms and sleep schedules typically turn to chaos as soon as a baby arrives. That’s the reason one friend of mine used to refer to his child as a “destroying angel.”
But as an American in Paris, Druckerman noticed a series of what she calls “minor miracle[s].” Parents who enjoy long adult conversations while their children play quietly nearby. Birthday parties where 5-year-olds sit patiently at tables waiting for their slices of cake. And perhaps most surprising of all, babies, lots of them, who sleep through the night at just 2 or 3 months old.
Scenes like these inspired Druckerman to write her marvelous new book, Bringing Up Bebe.
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