[French] Parents see it as their job to bring the child around to appreciating this [food]. They believe that just as they must teach a child how to sleep, how to wait, and how to say bonjour, they must teach her how to eat.

The French believe that kids feel confident when they're able to do things for themselves, and do those things well. After children have learned to talk, adults don't praise them for saying just anything. They praise them for saying interesting things, and for speaking well.

When I ask French parents what they most want for their children, they say things like "to feel comfortable in their own skin" and "to find their path in the world." They want their kids to develop their own tastes and opinions. In fact, French parents worry if their kids are too docile. They want them to have character.

But they believe that children can achieve these goals only if they respect boundaries and have self-control. So alongside character, there has to be cadre.

Conscious parenting is not about being perfect, it's about being aware. Aware of what your kids need from you to reach more of their full potential.

What strengthen the bonds between the children and their parents is spreading the fun and humor during family gatherings and times, and enforcing the feeling of every child’s importance to their parents, and giving them the confidence that they will and can face the life without falling in the wrong, sin, or guilt.

It is important that parents know how to separate between their children’s behaviors and personalities. Any mixing in this matter is kind of neglecting parenting duties, and the needed caring for sons and daughters.