Statement by MODS

The Network of Organizations for Children of Serbia  (MODS) has launched the national campaign aimed at improving the parenting through the promotion of examples of raising children without corporal punishment.

We strive for a society in which every child and parents are happy in a family as a place of love, tolerance and respect.

We set ourselves a task to directly include at least 3,000 parents, during the campaign, who practice positive parenting and who may transfer their knowledge, story and experience from their own point of view.

We will be helped by the members of MODS, more than 90 organizations working with children in 40 towns and municipalities, their members, activists and parents.

The campaign started officially on 15 May 2014 on the International Day of Families and will last until the end of December.

The parents who join the campaign will be invited to sign the “Declaration of the Parents in Serbia”, invite other parents to join the campaign by signing the Declaration, share their own experience in raising of children with other parents, like FB page of the campaign, invite other parents to like FB page, fill in the survey of parenting methods, and to post the good examples of non-violent upbringing.

On Facebook page RODITELJ PLUS = batine minus, you can find all information about the campaign, and also share parenting practice without corporal punishment, as well as educational materials.

For more information, contact:

Vojvodina: Tatjana Lazor Obradovic, Know How Center, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone: +381 21 300 666 4

Belgrade: Dragana Socanin, Association Roditelj, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone: +381 11 3165-375

Pancevo: Valentina Zavisic, Initiative for Inclusion VelikiMali, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone: +381 13 344 141

Western Serbia: Jelena Zunic Cicvaric, Uzice Child Rights Centre, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone: +381 31 510 180

Eastern Serbia: Jovan Marinkovic, Open Club, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone: 018 523 422

South Serbia: Vesna Cvetkovic, Association Nexus-Vranje, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone: +381 17 74 31 484

MESSAGES FOR PARENTS
• Talk to your child, let him know you are there for him/her, that zou understand his/her feelings, develop his/her capacities to cope with the demands of society and growing up.
• Whenever you can,  "meet" your child's behavior. Explain what is happening, why it is important to do something or not, BEFORE the child does something you do not want.
• Note that when your child is spiteful, tests the limits, seems unruly - the child explores, and invites you to be a parent and teach him/her what to do in that situation. Physical punishment does not give the child information about what is happening, how he/she feels, what he/she is doing, why it is wrong or not.
• Physical punishment is more often the result of parents’ emotions, stress, fear, or anger than designed educational step. The child shall not be responsible for your emotions and cannot and should not care about them! When punishing only physically, you "pass" all your negative emotions onto the child, what he/she cannot understand.
• Be ready to grow with your child. Although you are grown-up, you are not finished with the development! With parenting, your development in one part has just begun! This part also includes appropriate responses to unwanted behavior of the child.
• If your child makes you ''lose control '' and you do not see other solution than to immediately physically punish – stop him/her, take a deep breath and consider taking some steps that you can find on FB group RODITELJ PLUS = BATINE MINUS.

This is not the end of recommendations. This is an open list and we invite you to supplement it, share with us your experiences.  Join us, share your experience, send your story about successfully mastered obstacles ...