On May 16, 10:05*am, Lenona > wrote:
> Pamela Druckerman is the author of the book and this is a recipe that
> is apparently quite popular in France.
>
> http://www.cakestudent.com/yogurt-ca...nging-up-bebe/
>
> For those who don't know, she's from the Wall St. Journal and lives in
> France, where she observed that the parents there seem to be much more
> in control of their kids - and the kids don't depend on parents for
> entertainment, especially. She doesn't shy away from what she doesn't
> like about French parenting, either - such as lack of social & medical
> support for mothers who want to nurse. Her book is a bestseller right
> now. Some have pointed out that the French style is pretty much the
> same as what the American one was 50-60 years ago.
>
> And, she writes, even preschoolers in France are expected to help cook
> things such as this cake without making an awful mess - and with
> minimal help!
>
> Only trouble was, I made it this morning and it seems that either
> Druckerman forgot to say that one should use TWO loaf pans (I haven't
> tried using a 9-inch cake pan yet), OR she should have said to bake it
> for about 90 minutes, not 45! Of course, I kept testing it with a
> knife - about three times in all - so it came out fine.

I can guess at the root cause: Individual yogurts in France are
100-125 grams, so only half a cup. This could make a much larger
amount of batter depending on the size of the yogurt cup you used,
because everything is scaled to the size of the yogurt cup.


>
> And finally, here's what one commentator said about the book's
> naysayers:
>
> "Let's see, French moms don't:
>
> "Feed their kids McDonald's every day,

But, MacDo is readily available, along with Quick (burgers) and Pizza
Hut.

> expose their children to
> religion (and the nonsense that is intelligent design, etc),

Roughly half of French children are baptized in the Catholic church,
and of those, roughly half make their First Communions around nine
years of age. Considering the fierce separation of church and state in
French education, I have to conclude French moms are exposing their
kids to religion.

> don't
> raise them to believe that sex is awful but violence is ok,

French people expect that their adolescent kids are going to fool
around.

> don't have
> a disdain for education (or elitism as we like to say in the US).

Education has been seen as the key to success for well over a century
in France. Plus it's seen as essential to be able to participate
effectively as a citizen.

>
> "That's just to name a few, so yes it is entirely possible that they
> are better parents."

One problem with the French way of child rearing is that, while strict
with their preteens, they allow their kids to get pretty wild during
adolescence.