# About the Movement

- Link: https://latinxparenting.org/about-the-movement/
- Published: 2023-05-10T22:35:51-07:00
- Author: kevinaltamirano

#  About the Movement

##  The Vision

 Latinx Parenting believes passionately in shifting the paradigm of raising children
towards creating a trauma-informed, healing centered, nonviolent and cultural sustaining
approach where Latinx familias can nurture connection in their homes and culture
in ways that support individual, family and intergenerational collective healing.

 “

 THE MOVEMENT TO END CHANCLA CULTURE IS ABOUT HEALING AND RECLAMATION.

 “

##  How will we unfold our vision?

###  By ending chancla culture

 Chancla culture survives through the use of oppressive strategies—including corporal
punishment, shame, and fear—to manipulate children into behaving to please adults.

We know, from research and memory for some, that the ongoing oppression of children
causes significant harm to a child’s development and emotional development.La Chancla
is in reference to a sandal or flip-flop, and in Latinx culture, it is frequently
referenced as having been used by our immigrant or Latina mothers to get children
to change behavior by either threatening or actively using it to physically hurt
us as children.La Chancla and oppressive views of children, including our own inner
children, is not actually part of our culture— it is what keeps our culture back.
In Latinx media, there are countless videos and memes that are intended to be funny,
but when you look at it from a child development and children’s rights perspective,
they are normalizing violence against children. Chancla Culture thrives off of this
normalization.

 [ Learn About the Workshop ](https://latinxparenting.org/workshop/ending-chancla-culture/)

 “

 I Just Want My Gente To Heal

 “

 Dr. Manuel Zamarripa of the Insitute of Chicana/Chicano Pyschology, a teacher and
someone I consider an elder in this personal and professional work of decolonizing
our familias, has affirmed that many Indigenous communities believe children hold
innate wisdom that needs to be honored. When we talk about decolonizing our families,
we talk about returning to this understanding and treating children as whole and
complete beings with many gifts and capacities.

![](https://latinxparenting.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sun-copy.png)

##  DID YOU KNOW THAT…

 *    By the year 2050, 1 In 3 children will be Latinx. (U.S. Census Bureau)
 *    Latinx children are at risk for more mental health outcomes five times more
   than their white counterparts. (McGuire & Miranda, 2014)
 *    Thoughts of suicide are 8x higher for Latinx students who feel less connected
   and less communicated with within their families. (cibhs.org)
 *    Frequent use of corporal punishment reduces risk of upward social mobility.(
   brookings.edu, 2014)

 WE CAN DO BETTER

 For those of us that grew up on the receiving end of corporal punishment and experiencing
the effects of Chancla Culture, this may bring up some feelings that we may or may
not have dealt with before we became parents. This has been so normalized, that 
it makes sense that Latino comedians joke about it to thousands of people, that 
on Mother’s Day you’ll find brand new illustrations created in reverence of La Chancla.

Laughing at chancla memes and videos may give some of us Latinx people a sense of
feeling seen and relating to that experience. It may be difficult to acknowledge
that growing up in chancla culture caused harm, because so many of us have been 
raised not to question or “disrespect” our parents by challenging their choices.
Respect is an important value in our familias, and in our culture, the need to be
respected and to provide guidance is often confused with the urge to create fear
through punishment. However, by acknowledging that our parents didn’t have alternate
tools or adequate information and resources, we are not disrespecting them. We are
simply naming that it caused harm, and we are invited to reflect on whether or not
we want to cause that for our children. There’s quite a bit of compassion we can
hold for our parents once we understand where Chancla Culture comes from, and that
their choices were usually not intended to harm, though the fact is that they often
did.

 THIS IS A HUGE PARADIGM SHIFT AND
TAKES GANAS.

 Our mission is to offer Latinx communities and its allies, family education that
encompasses the cultural, socio-political and diverse needs of each family. We are
transforming the culture of child-raising by educating, advocating, envisioning 
and inspiring families to end the cycle of violence towards themselves and their
children through the practice of nonviolence, reparenting, connection, and community
wellness towards liberation and thriving.
When we commit to our healing, whether
it be for ourselves or for our families, we begin to understand that things don’t
have to be either or, we live on intersectional planes, dualities are valid, complexities
are the norm. ⁣⁣This is liberating because it frees us from thinking that acknowledging
our own pain and trauma means betraying our parents. Boundaries, whether concrete
or just energetic, are gifts to ourselves and to those who we are setting them with. ⁣⁣
There’s no shame in holding dualities. In fact, there’s a distinct freedom we can
experience as we embrace them and embrace the vastness and richness of our experiences
and healing process. ⁣⁣

 This movement is not just for Latinx Parents.

 It is just as much for Latinx children, those that

 still live within us, and those we are raising.

##  SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT

Subscription Form

First Name:

Last Name:

E-mail

 End Chancla Culture Introductory Workshop

 Make A Donation

 Gift One Of Our Offerings