France to ban spanking of children by parents
Parents in France will no longer have the liberty to whoop their children, the parliament has concluded.
The bill seeking to outlaw corporal punishment and sponsored by a member of the parliament, Maud Petit was voted to be law Friday morning. It will now be passed to the country’s Senate for approval.
France, to the dismay of many European countries, have a large percentage of parents – 85% – spanking their kids as a form of discipline, according to a survey.
Petit’s bill on ‘corporal punishment or humiliation’ seeks to ensure that parents find a way to discipline their wards “without violence” of any sort, including “physical, verbal or psychological” violence.
But according to Petit, parents who continue to discipline their kids would not be sanctioned even after the bill is passed into law. She says it’s only to educate society on the need for caution.
Schools in the country have long been banned from physically disciplining students.
The human rights community in Europe had singled the country out for failing to ban smacking.
We’re not sure Nigerian parents would take kindly to this law if it’s proposed here.
