Mysterious Sounds Reported Around the World

Ever wished parenting could be just a tad more civilized? A little less filled with yogurt stains and 2 a.m. wails, perhaps?

A new book has a solution: parenting a la Francais. American mom and Paris resident Pamela Druckerman makes her case in Bringing up Bebe, which comes out Feb. 7.

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Druckerman, an American and former Wall Street Journal reporter, has raised her three children in Paris. Curious as to how French babies slept through the night and toddlers sat politely at the table, she set out to investigate. The book details her findings, most of which stand in direct contradiction to last year's hot momtini-hour topic: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. For example:

When your 3-year-old screams for snack, American parents tend to throw the nearest tube of squeezable applesauce at her as quickly as possible. Not so in France, where parents delay gratification. "I'm now convinced that the secret of why French kids rarely whine or collapse into tantrums - or at least do so less than American kids - is that they've developed the internal resources to cope with frustration," Druckerman writes.

When a 6-week-old cries, American parents usually sprint to offer comfort. In France, parents pause first.

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"French parents believe it's their job to gently teach babies to sleep well," Druckerman writes. "They don't view being up half the night with an eight-month-old as a sign of parental commitment. They view it as a sign that the child has a sleep problem and that his family is wildly out of balance."

When American women take a break from their kids, it's often a guilt-ridden hour with cell phone at the ready. French women think it's unhealthy to spend all their time with their kids. "Children -- even babies and toddlers - get to cultivate their inner lives without a mother's constant interference," Druckerman writes.

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According to a Good Morning America poll, however, not all Americans are buying it: 76 percent said they preferred the hands-on, American style.

Photo: French actress Catherine Deneuve with her son Christian Vadim just a few days after his birth in 1963. Credit: Corbis