French Kids Eat Everything ( And Yours Can, Too ) - Couverture souple

Karen Le Billon's two young daughters are typical picky eaters: Sophie flees from the table when confronted with foods she doesn't like (almost everything except pasta, toast, and fishy crackers), and younger sister Claire follows suit. So when Karen moves her young family from Vancouver to her husband's hometown in northern France, she is prepared for some cultural adjustment. But her idyllic dreams of cobblestone streets and baguettes under arms are quickly disrupted as her daughter's eating habits come under scrutiny: Karen is lectured for slipping fussing Claire a snack – "a recipe for obesity!" – and forbidden from packing Sophie a lunch in lieu of the elaborate meal on the school menu.

Intrigued to find that French children feed themselves neatly and happily – eating everything from beets to broccoli, salad to spinach, mussels to muesli – Karen sets out to learn the secrets of French food education. Soon, she begins to see the wisdom in the food rules the French use to foster healthy eating habits and good manners – from the rigid "no snacking" rule to strategies for avoiding emotional eating.

Adopting 10 French Food Rules, her (at times reluctant) family cures picky eating and learns to love trying new foods. But the real challenge comes when they move back to North America, where their commitment to "eating French" is put to the test. The result is a fun and witty memoir of a family food revolution, with surprising but happy results. French Kids Eat Everything suggests we need to dramatically rethink both the way we parent, and the way we feed children, at home and at school – and all of the tips, resources, and recipes to make it happen.

Moving her young family to her husband's hometown in northern France, Karen Le Billon expected some cultural adjustment. But she didn't expect to be lectured for slipping her fussing toddler a snack, or to be forbidden from packing her older daughter a school lunch. Karen is intrigued by the fact that French children happily eat everything—from beets to broccoli, from salad to spinach—while French obesity rates are a fraction of what they are in North America.

Karen soon begins to see the wisdom in the "food rules" that the French use to foster healthy eating habits and good manners in babies and children. Some of the rules call into question both our eating habits and our parenting styles. Other rules evoke commonsense habits that we used to share but have somehow forgotten. Taken together, the rules suggest that we need to dramatically rethink the way we feed children, at home and at school.

Combining personal anecdotes with practical tips and appetizing recipes—including Zucchini and Spinach Puree and Bouillabaisse (Fish Soup) for Babies—French Kids Eat Everything is a humorous, provocative look at families, food, and children that is filled with inspiration and advice that every parent can use.