update on French parenting book

A few posts previously I mentioned the book Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman.  At long last, it was my turn in the library's queue to read it!  I finished it this week and I believe it is a MUST read for anyone interested in parenting.  I found it really interesting and thought provoking, and already seeping into my parenting. 

A section of the book talks about The Pause, making children wait.  Letting a brand new baby try to settle itself back to sleep as opposed to rushing in at the first noise coming from the crib, is called the pause.  Having a child wait for a snack until snack time (which for French children is only at 4pm) is also, the pause.  In my own life, this week, I have found myself letting my children wait a little longer as well.  In the past, if I was folding laundry or making dinner, for example, and my child asked me for a drink or to cue up another show from the dvr, I would have stopped what I was doing and done what they politely asked me for.  It was worth it to me, to make them happy so I could get back to my task and finish it without hearing them constantly whine for what they were asking for.  This week, I decided, it's not my job to meet their 'need' the second they want it, what I'm doing is important too.  Now I say, "When I'm finished hanging up these clothes, I will be happy to get you a drink."  It teaches them patience, to have them wait. 

All the talk of food, what French children eat from a very young age, and how it is prepared in the creche, or state run daycare, is fascinating.  I imagine that if you make it to the end of the book, it's because you really resonate with the French culture's take on parenting.  So just when you think you're 'sold' on it, the author throws a humdinger that will NOT resonate with you, as an American mother.  You will not be able to wrap your mind around French parents' comfort level with their children's autonomy.  Or would you?  Read the book and let me know!