“There is no good spanking and no bad spanking”, underlines the association Enfance sans violence

“The human being who suffers this violence in an ordinary way imprints this violence as learning”, deplores Céline Quelen, president of the Enfance sans violence association at the origin of an awareness campaign against ordinary educational violence against children which was unveiled on Monday April 29. She was the guest of the show Ma France on France Bleu the same day.

“In this violence there is the good intention of the parent to educate with the tools he has, that is to say with the tools he knows, with what he knows how to do, unfortunately violence “, describes Céline Quelen. However, the consequences on the child are lasting: “In terms of consequences on the child, on his development, on supporting him in his basic needs and in listening to his emotions, unfortunately [les violences ordinaires] have the same form of degradation and deleterious consequences as other types of violence.

“There is no such thing as small violence”

They indeed constitute a heritage, like any type of learning. “It is scientifically proven, continues the president of the association, These children endure it throughout their childhood and it brings it to the brain like learning, like you would learn a language or a little nursery rhyme for a child.”. She adds that “the human being who suffers this violence in an ordinary way imprints this violence as learning, because the brain does not know how to distinguish between good things and bad things and it retains the most frequent experiences”.

“In fact, authority arises through a non-violent parental posture above all.”

Céline Quelen, president of the Childhood without Violence association

on France Bleu

The association denounces the “beliefs” on “these notions of child kings”. “There is a big mix-up which is to say that we can only establish our authority through violence, only through punishment, only through negative things”, recalls Céline Quelen. The law of July 10, 2019 is “very clear”she concludes. “Parental authority is exercised without physical or psychological violence, so it’s not a choice. When I hear ‘there’s spanking and spanking’, it’s really this ambient denial. A blow is a blow, there is no such thing as small violence. There is no such thing as good spanking and bad spanking, it’s aberrant.”