There was an interesting article recently in the Wall Street Journal discussing this very question (thank you to my patient JW for pointing me towards it!).  In an excerpt from her upcoming book, this British mother living in France addresses some differences she has noted in the parenting of French children.  The thoughts are very interesting, as all of us can admit seeing children in restaurants or museums who are poorly behaved and have no regard for their parents authority.


Among the highlights of her thoughts:
- she feels French parents are much better at discipline, and that they do so not through physical means, but with stern words that say to their children that they mean business

- she thinks that French children eat only at mealtime, which creates better structure and more patience
- she notes that when parents buy treats for their children in France, they must wait until later to eat the treat, and this teaches them both patience and delayed gratification (she implies everything in America is immediate with children these days)
- she notes that French children are encouraged to learn to play by themselves from a young age, and so are better able to occupy themselves and less in need of constant attention or stimulation from parents or other children or adults