While the book is not necessarily meant to be an instruction manual for parenting and is rather a collection of Druckerman’s personal observations, its provocative argument drew controversy. Some of Druckerman’s choices in writing the book led to critiques that focused on the narrowness of her perspective and her omission of systemic issues that make her depiction of French parenting far from universal. 

Some of the criticism addresses Druckerman’s broad dismissal of US parenting culture. The book glorifies French parenting as flawless and makes it seem as though virtually all parents in France are parenting the same way, using the same methods and holding to the same philosophies. American parenting is likewise generalized in solely negative terms, sweepingly categorizing all American parents as neurotic or even paranoid and arguing that their style of parenting is creating poorly behaved, dysfunctional children. This evidence-free conclusion leaves out the fact that many children in France (like children everywhere) are also poorly behaved or picky eaters. The book also fails to discuss much beyond the preschool age, raising the question of whether these techniques work for older children and whether the characteristics that young children develop in France persist.