How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm & Other Adventures in Parenting Around the World

Hopgood (Lucky Girl) is living in Buenos Aires when she notices that the city—including its children—never sleeps. A first-time mom from suburban Michigan, Hopgood sets out to research how cultural expectations and customs determine the way kids are raised. For starters, she discovers that to the Argentineans, socializing with family is more important than strict bedtime schedules. Such cultural constructs may ruffle Americans; the author learns, however, that even sleep guru Richard Ferber can’t see anything intrinsically wrong with later bedtimes. In separate chapters Hopgood examines why French children eat so well (noshing on mussels and Roquefort cheese), “How Kenyans Live Without Strollers,” “How the Chinese Potty Train Early,” “How Polynesians Play without Parents,” and other fascinating topics. Hopgood’s text is a satisfying mix of research, observation, interview, and personal experience; she travels from Argentina to Chicago with her toddler sans stroller, and decides to potty train her daughter at 19 months, using the Chinese method of “split pants.” Along the way, Hopgood and readers alike learn quite a bit about parenthood from different cultures. Her investigation, Hopgood points out, both opens her mind and challenges her beliefs, revealing that there is no single best way to raise children, though being a good parent is a universal goal. Readers will laugh, marvel and muse over the many (frequently opposing) child-rearing methods that persist despite the growing globalization of parenthood. (Jan.)