You see a mother in a supermarket slap her child

Vous voyez une mère dans un supermarché donner une gifle à son enfant.

A slight pat or spank I support, but a slap
makes me think that she is a cruel or bad mother.
do nothing
feel indignant about it but do nothing since it is a family affair
I resolve once again never to hit mine.
I think it's extremely important for parents to discipline their children,
but usually not with physical force.
I will be shocked at the lack of discretion.
I would be angry.
I would be bothered by it and watch her interactions with the child for
a while.
I would be upset, I don't think physical violence is necessary in child-raising
i would feel angered
i would feel really sorry for the child, but i would continue grocery shopping
I would feel sad and angry.
I would get probably get upset, but I would not say anything unless I thought
that the child was in danger.
i would give her evil look
I would give the mother a serious look of disapproval. I would be very affected
by this, saddened.
I would go up to the mother and tell her to stop hitting her child.
indifferent, unless she was using exessive force
It must be for a good reason
look at them and wonder what he did
remember how I used to be humiliated in such situations.
Resentment and discomfort, but I dont know what its like to be a parent.
She needs to find another way to deal with her child.

ce n'est pas mon problème
cela me contrarie beaucoup mais je ne me mèlerai pas
c'est pas en frappant un enfant qu'on l'éduque
c'est pas en frappant un enfant qu'on l'éduque
Elle sait mieux que moi s'il la mérite ou non.
il l'a surement cherché
il l'a surement méritée
Il l'avait bien mérité: il lui tenait tÍte
il le mérite sûrement
J'appelle super man
Je cherche à savoir ce qu'il a fait pour vouloir découvrir
le masochisme si jeune.
je la comprends
je la regarde mechamment
je la regarde sans rien dire , ce ne sont pas mes affaires
je me demandes si c'était vraiment obligatoire de le faire devant
du monde...
Je me détourne pour ne pas gêner l'enfant.
je me dis que ce n'est pas la solution
je m'éloigne. Cela ne me regarde pas
Je pense que lorsque je serai papa, j'essaierai de ne pas gifler mon enfant,
mais je ne me mêle pas de cette histoire qui ne me regarde pas,on
ne sait pas ce qu'il s'est passé, je suis contre les gifles mais
je pense que cela peut parfois être nécessaire.
On ne tape pas un enfant. Mais ce n'est pas à moi de dire à
la mère ce qu'elle doit faire ou ne pas faire
son éducation ne me regarde pas tant que l'enfant n'est pas battu
gratuitement
voici un bon exemple pour notre jeunesse égarée

Discussion

In America, such a situation suggests possibilities of
"abuse" and "inappropriate violence". Does the French
media and legal institutions approach child abuse in the
same way as Americans? Or would slapping a child be
considered a legitimate way of discpline. I would be
very interested to learn more.

Yes, this question also interests me. I think that in
Europe the anti-child-abuse laws are not as strict, and
hitting is sometimes still considered as a proper method
of discipline. Many of the French also said that it was
none of their business how the mother disciplines her
child. I think this ties in to the replies about
community involvement, which indicate that the French
are less involved with their community than the
Americans. They just kind of let each other be, don't
try to get into other peoples' lives.

Les lois françaises sur les cas de violence sur enfants
ne sont pas du tout prises à la légère . Ces dernières
années nous ont révélés certains cas de violence extrême
et ils n'ont pas été ignorés pour autant .

En ce qui concerne la seconde partie du message de
Natalia , il est mal vu de se mêler des affaires des
autres en France . Evidemment si la mère se montrait
vraiment violente vis à vis de son enfant , les gens
interviendraient , mais il ne s'agit que d'une gifle .

Do you think that the sex of the child being slapped
would affect Frence people's impressions of the
situation? In France, would a father hitting a daughter
be viewed the same way as a mother hitting a son?
-sayum

I think that it is very interesting that it is seen to
be inaapropriate to meddle in other people's business.
In the U.S., if a parent were seen to hit a child,
people may take legal action against the parent.

In the US and Britain, teachers are no longer allowed
to hit student, no even once. In England there is a rule
where if a teacher were to hit you, you are allowed to
retaliate within a certain time frame (3-5 seconds, I
think).

I just wanted to know how corporal punishment in
schools is viewed in France?

D'après les réponses sur le forum, il semble que cette
situation interpelle plus les américains que les
français. Je pense qu'en France on conidère que les
parents sont seuls responsables de leurs enfants et que
leur donner une gifle est, toute proportion gardée, une
méthode d'éducation et non une
agréssion.

super méthode johnatan, je suis content de ne pas être
ton fils ;o)

jeanou..

Je pense qu'en France, une gifle ne signifie pas qu'il y
ait une violence quotidienne. Et puis, l'éducation c'est
aussi une part de punition...

Je ne parlais pas du sexe de l'enfant mais de la
personne qui a répondu aux questions
:)

Il est très rare que la justice soit saisie pour si
peu...mais c'est en tant que personne que j'ai beaucoup
de mal à voir des parents frapper avec plus ou moins de
violence leurs enfants.c'est sans doute assez illusoire
de n'y avoir jamais recours mais je pense que l'on peut
élever ses enfants
autrement.

Je ne parlais pas du sexe de l'enfant mais de la
personne qui a répondu aux questions

I know :-) However, your mention of gender made me think
of other things along those lines (like the sex of the
child) -sayumi

I think that two distinctions need to be made. For me,
a slap signifies something far worse than a "pat" or a
"spanking". A slap seems inordinately severe, and I
generally associate it with abuse. The second
clarification is that I think that it matters where on
the body the "slap" is administered. Across the face
is very much frowned upon, but a pat on the buttocks or
the thigh seems to me to be more acceptable. In France
are there other words to describe other forms of
corporal punishment that perhaps carry other meanings,
and does location matter?

By the way, I don't know how many of you heard of the
story a few weeks ago (from Chicago I think) of the
mother who was caught on video slapping her child in a
parking lot that dominated our headlines and caused a
great public uproar against it. If you are familiar
with the story, what are your opinions about it?

Jonathan.

engage