"When Sara Zaske moved from Oregon to Berlin with her husband and toddler, she knew the transition would be challenging, especially when she became pregnant with her second child. She was surprised to discover that German parents give their children a great deal of freedom--much more than Americans. In Berlin, kids walk to school by themselves, ride the subway alone, cut food with sharp knives, and even play with fire. German parents did not share her fears, and their children were thriving. Was she doing the opposite of what she intended, which was to raise capable children? Why was parenting culture so different in the States? Through her own family's often funny experiences as well as interviews with other parents, teachers, and experts, Zaske shares the many unexpected parenting lessons she learned from living in Germany. Achtung Baby reveals that today's Germans know something that American parents don't (or have perhaps forgotten) about raising kids with 'selbstandigkeit' (self-reliance), and provides practical examples American parents can use to give their own children the freedom they need to grow into responsible, independent adults." -- Amazon.com.

Introduction Modern Germany. Beyond the stereotype ; A short historical update ; The culture of control ; Why German parenting matters -- 1. Leaving America. A cold arrival ; Everything in order -- 2. Berlin babies. Where midwives rule ; The American disadvantage ; A Berlin birth -- 3. Attachment problems. German parents and attachment theory ; Independent infants ; Mother knows best? -- 4. Small children, small worries (Kleine Kinder, kleine Sorgen). The kindergarten east-west legacy ; Early kita skills ; Quality of care ; Child-care benefits -- 5. The democratic kindergarten. Faster or better learning ; Children in charge ; Discipline ; Kita trips ; Teaching kita skills in the United States -- 6. Starting school. Play school ; Educational priorities ; Homework, food, and protest -- 7. No bad weather. America inside ; Germans and free nature ; Taking away the toys -- 8. The freedom to move. Why German children walk alone ; Freedom to play -- 9. Dangerous things. The art of fire ; Tools ; Adventure play ; Necessary dangers ; A celebration of fear -- 10. Tough subjects. Death ; Religion -- 11. Facing the past. The history of memory ; Historic crimes and responsibility -- 12. Big kids, big worries (Grosse Kinder, grosse Sorgen). The space to be young ; An extra-long adolescence ; The academic question ; Achieving adulthood -- 13. Coming back to America. Starting American school ; Fourth-grade blues ; Freedom for kids in the land of the free -- Epilogue German lessons. The rights of children ; Freedom of ideas.