Education in France: The bottom line

Date: 20/09/03

Should parents smack their children? The great debate, in French

EVER wondered why French children are so unnaturally well-behaved in restaurants? Could the liberal use by French parents of a firm smack be responsible? According to one poll, 84% of them admit to smacking their children, a practice banned in countries from Sweden to Germany, and 51% say they do so often.

The French like to appear baffled, even amused, by others' efforts to ban the habit. A recent British move to outlaw smacking by child-minders made Le Figaro's front page. Certainly, there is no taboo against smacking in public: many a harassed parent can be seen unapologetically slapping a tot in a park or supermarket. It is part of the repertoire of unsentimental child-rearing practices that set France apart from the indulgent child-centric American tradition. Surely, say the French, parents can be trusted to know the difference between the odd slap and repeated physical abuse?

This complacency, however, argue increasingly vocal child-protection groups, masks a serious problem. A culture that legitimises smacking can encourage the concealment of graver abuse. In 2001, 1.9m calls were made to an emergency childline service. Last week, Christian Jacob, the minister for the family, announced the setting up of an institute for child mistreatment. It will gather figures on the problem, assess early-warning policies, and consider whether to let child-protection agencies take civil action against parents suspected of violence. A television awareness campaign, which shows children hitting and shouting at a recalcitrant doll they are play-feeding, and carries the slogan “Being a parent is not child's play”, will also be screened.

Some campaigners want more. How is mistreatment to be defined? No Slapping No Smacking, an organisation set up in 1998, wants corporal punishment in the home outlawed. Its head, Dr Jacqueline Cornet, argues that smacking, however occasional, undermines children's confidence, weakens their emotional relationships, and encourages the use of violence to resolve disputes. Even French women's magazines and child-rearing books are beginning to counsel against the practice. “A child is not a puppy to be trained”, advises a recent issue of Elle magazine. Stand by for rowdier meal times in the brasserie.

Should parents smack their children?

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