A normal mom will give you a snack after school.
A French mom will prepare you a real goûter, like a crêpe au sucre or a few tartines beurrées, with a delicious chocolat chaud.
A normal mom will ask (or beg) her kids to stop misbehaving.
A French mom will give them the big eyes and that will be enough for them to stop right away.
A normal mom plays with her kids or entertains them as much as possible.
A French mom leaves them time to explore things on their own and to get bored.
A normal mom hugs her kids hello or goodbye.
A French mom gives them la bise.
A normal mom will do all she can to help her kids
A French mom will let them figure things out by themselves first and then, if they really need her, she’ll lend a hand.
A normal mom will excuse their kids’ behavior by “kids will be kids”.
A French mom will force her children to apologize for misbehaving and, after much public shaming, will tell you how mal élevé they are.
A normal mom tells her children that their work is awesome, amazing, or wonderful.
A French mom tells them c’est pas mal du tout, and just this little sentence sounds like the best of compliments!
A normal mom allows you to watch TV at dinner time.
A French mom won’t even allow a TV in the kitchen or living room.
A normal mom will ask you to help out with housework.
A French mom will tell you daily that she’s not the maid and that you’d better pull your weight if you want to have dessert tonight.
A normal mom stops her conversation to answer your questions.
A French mom asks you to wait until she’s finished and to not interrupt adults’ conversations.
A normal mom lets you wear what makes you happy when you are not attending any formal event.
A French mom wants you to be properly dressed at all times (even if you’re nearly 30 years old), like when you go to the supermarket, or even just to get the mail… because you never know who you could bump into!
A normal mom will let you argue with her a little bit.
A French mom won’t be afraid to tell you: non, un point c’est tout!
A normal mom tells her kid « I love you, sweety ».
A French mom tells him “Je t’aime mon chou”. Yes, food names are a proof of love…