French Maman lays down the law
French children are taught discipline from a young age
Touching down at Charles de Gaulle Airport, a French mum grabs her child by the ear lobe and directs him forcefully outside the terminal building. Then, while crossing the street adjacently from Les Galaries Lafayettes another prim looking Parisian mother drags her child along the street behind her ignoring his every protest. Interestingly, passers-by do not seem at all startled by this kind of behaviour. In the event of such hard-handed measures in Britain, groups of meddlesome individuals would conspicuously turn their noses up in disgust and shock. The stark differences between Anglo-American and French style parenting are something to which I am yet to acclimatise.
Janine di Giovani, a journalist for the Daily Telegraph, has also reported on the disciplinary methods used by French mothers on their children as being strict and disciplinary. She says: “in France, installing clear boundaries and limits to a child’s behaviour is a way of showing the utmost love.”
Parental influence on children starts from a very early age. In Britain, the soft and romantic tales of Winnie the Poo or Beatrix Potter are read to children, whereas in France children are religiously told to digest the moralistic tales of La Fontaine. When guests are invited to the house in France, the pattering of tiny feet can be heard as the little ones file down the stairs to deliver a customary cheek pecking ritual. They then scurry away to the confines of their bedroom not to be seen or heard for the rest of the evening. My experience of children in England is vastly dissimilar. They seem to demand continuous attention and lack the essential ability of acting autonomously.
It is logical enough to believe that militarily conducted parenting will lead to children who are void of any individuality and who lack a creative spirit. However, from what I have perceived up to now the opposite seems to be true. Carole, my (French) girlfriend told me that she rarely saw her parents when she was younger and didn’t even have the right to spend the night with her friends at the age of sixteen. She has since spent a year at art school and has recently graduated as a fully qualified art therapist (pyschomotricienne in French.)
Watching the daily procession of French mothers intact with their immaculately presented child, it becomes distinctively obvious why the French have a reputation for sophistication, style and refined mannerisms. French children are taught how to be civilised from an early age; how to interact and communicate effectively without the comfort of their parents shoulder to lean on. Conversely, the seven and eight year old who live across the road from my parents in England are not far from exceeding the legal threshold for noise pollution.
Adolescents in Paris never appear to be uncontrollably intoxicated with alcohol whilst blaspheming in the middle of the street at other staggering drunkards – a sight all too common back in Britain.
Discipline is now taboo in Anglo-American society. In Britain, children have unknowingly taken the ‘a’ out of authority. Teachers and parents are told to wrap children in cotton wool protecting them from the eventuality of any harm. It’s about time we take a leaf from the French text book and have children back scraping their knees on gravel surfaces. There is just too much grass and smooth tarmac from where I come from.
