Now that I’m going to be a mom in a month (!), I’ve been noticing that here in France, the stroller dominates and there’s very little breastfeeding and baby carrying – especially compared to Germany. But, think of it culturally – the French are raised to be very independent and competitive from an early age and they have a high number of women working. Germany tends to have mothers staying at home – which, unfortunately, has hurt women in many ways as they feel they must choose between work and children and they have the lowest EU birthrate as a result. And the culture and government there is unsupportive of working mothers. France though, is VERY supportive of working mothers and as a result they have the highest birthrate in Europe.

It’s very challenging to be a French working mother practicing attachment parenting – especially if they must return to work and the workplace isn’t supportive of it. It’s slowly catching on though. I live near the Germany/Switzerland border so I figure that my public breastfeeding will be viewed as “crazy American” stuff or I’ll be mistaken for a German tourist Either way, the point is that if France sees more of this, it will start to normalize in the culture – so BF on gals!

Baby-wearing, on the other hand, seems to have caught on. I would say about 25% of the moms (and dads!) that I see are doing in, though I still get a lot of questions about my 12-month-old being “too heavy”.

Probably the most difficult thing for me is the cry-it-out issue. While I am not an AP militant, don’t go to groups, don’t even own most of the recommended literature, etc., my own conscience has never felt comfortable with leaving my little one to wail and scream just because I want her in bed by 7:30 sharp. My in-laws are convinced that this is totally wrong, that crying is healthy, that she will be spoiled, etc… As a new mom trying to figure out what to do, this is terribly difficult for me. The lack of support wears on me and of course, I can’t help but run things over in my mind and second-guess myself.

Anyway, no, I would not say that France as a whole is into the AP philosophy.

I was just going to add however, that in the 2 years since the article was written some things in France (well Paris most certainly) have evolved. I live in Paris and EVERYWHERE you go, there are babies in wraps! It is wonderful. On the breastfeeding front, alas, that hasn’t really changed. Unless they are foreign, you are not going to see French women breastfeeding in public. Most French women I spoke to about it have pretty much said the same thing, they are too shy!

This cracks me up coming from a culture where breasts are plastered everywhere! I really do NOT believe it is a question of being shy, but that is the agreed upon cultural explanation for it. Although I do have French friends who breastfed in private until their babies were 3 months old – when they had to go back to work (after their PAID maternity leave!!!!!)

I am delighted to report though that I have never, ever gotten a strange look or even a smirk while breastfeeding my daughter in public. No one has ever stared or made much of a notice – and I have breastfed my daughter all over the place, including the Lourve, Notre Dame etc.

Then, about parenting science, THANKS, I think we really have our own stuff. Attachment parenting has never ever been demonstrated to be beneficial by any scienfitic studies. But that’s good to see how a more “tolerant” canadian is actually even more pretentious than a French by judging a whole culture as empty in the field of parenting. Thank you for your advise. If I may say, I’m pretty sure that if I go to your country I won’t find a sign of OUR parenting culture, and I won’t go and say you are stupid as you did, because I understand your culture is very different from mine.
And attachment parenting is actually pretty much AGAINST the mediterranean culture that I have, which is a very loving and boundaries creating culture, (see the italian mother) but at one moment let the child be an independant and social individual.
But thanks again for your 1,5 cents of nothing, based on so few misunderstood and incomplete informations…