Great comments everyone.

My take is that if the French social safety net was so superior, then France should be awash in babies. And it is. As is much of the Northern EU.

http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/article.cfm?aid=1408

But so is the US. And OTOH many other EU nations have declining fertility.

So, it really seems to make no difference. And these birth rates are just as high if not higher among whites. So, something else is going on. It would be interesting to look at the parents to see who they are and what they do. And why they had that third kid.

I would also keep in mind that France is by far the wealthiest nation in the EU. Most French households have little debt and are net savers. And France is energy independent with a very large and vibrant nuke industry. The latter fact along keeps a lot of money in the country.

As for the OP, I work with a lot of nationalities and just about everyone has kids. Only a few kids sleep through the night. The rest run the gamut. We are fortunate to have grandparents who live with us as do many of the nationalities that I work with. Again, we all still have many of the challenges of parents that don't. Sure, it helps to have help. But your parents living with you adds another layer of stress of its own and complicates how boundaries are set.

So, the article has to be taken as a color piece.

Most of the kids I see in TX are very well behaved because parents enforce boundaries and if the kids cross them, they leave the restaurant. I imagine the French are the same.

I recently read this book about a comparison of parenting styles.

http://www.amazon.com/Eskimos-Keep-Their-Babies-Warm/dp/156512958X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1