Achtung Baby: An American Mom on the German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children

Zaske does what any American journalist would do upon moving to Berlin with her husband and with a two-year-old in tow—she starts noticing and researching how Germans raise their children. In doing so, she makes a case for the country’s relaxed approach to child rearing as a welcome alternative to the more hands-on American style. With both parents able to take up to three years of partially paid parental leave, childcare in Germany is seen as a manageable task for working parents, and not as a touchstone for guilt, shame, and longing. Moreover, German parents, Zaske notes, are generally hands-off at the playground and otherwise, and children begin to walk to school unsupervised in second grade. Children also aren’t sheltered in the classroom, where they learn the facts of life at seven. The book is more than a memoir. Supported by statistics and research studies, Zaske makes a strong argument that German parenting practices are creating smarter and more productive parents and children alike. Agent: Terra Chalberg, Chalberg & Sussman. (Jan. 2018)