Committed to child protection, Mélissa Theuriau is producing a documentary on babies who live in nurseries. For the first time, the film “Babies placed, life ahead of them”, broadcast this November 15 on France 2, tells their story from their point of view as infants, from the day of their arrival to their departure from the institution.
In France, nearly 10,000 babies live in the care of Child Social Assistance (ASE). This is the case of Basile and Manon, born under and Anne-Lise, placed at the age of one by judicial decision. In the documentary Placed babies, life ahead of them, Mélissa Theuriau, the producer, and Karine Dusfour, the director, wanted to question the ability of children to build relationships of trust with adults after an early breakup with their parents, always highlighting the best interests of the child. . It is also an opportunity to promote child protection professions, about which we talk too little and often in a pejorative manner.
From the first days of life until adoption, at the heart of baby’s feelings
“I’m Aunt Simone. Now I’m the one who takes care of you. All the bottles, the diaper, the little bath, it’s with me. You’ll see, you’ll like it“. Tata Simone is the family assistant who was appointed by the ASE of Val-de-Marne to take care of Basile, only 8 days old, until his adoption. “They come to us as foster families when they are very young, they have experienced a separation. I take over, I give them what their natural parents could not give them while waiting for their adoptive parents. I try to give them good foundations and above all, deep confidence in adults.“, she explains.
From the first minutes of the documentary, we place ourselves at cradle height to observe and understand the baby’s point of view, from his first days of life to his protection: what stages he goes through, does he develops well, can it flourish even though the biological bond has been broken? “With Karine Dusfour, we are very committed to the best interests of the child which must take precedence, and have done so for a long time since the universal declaration of the rights of the child designates it as the one towards which all decisions must aim, or in fact, this is not the case“, deplores Mélissa Theuriau.
Adoptive parents are chosen based on the best interests of the child
Whether you adopt a ward of the state or a child born abroad, the adoption procedure is long and tedious. In France, the Family Council of Wards of the State examines several files from parents candidates for adoption who have previously obtained their approval. This request must be confirmed every year and updated every two years. Parents are not chosen by order of arrival, but rather according to the needs of the child, according to his psychological, medical and social assessment. Very strict criteria are studied by the Family Council in order to ensure the best interests of the child: reception conditions, household income, age of the parents (they must not be too old), size of the child. housing, hygiene, etc. Candidates for adoption must also undergo assessments carried out by a psychologist and a psychiatrist. “What must dictate the choices of the Family Council is the best interests of the child. As the director of the ASE explains in the documentary, we are not here for your distress, your suffering, your length of waiting or your child’s illness, this is not what will guide our decision. We are there for the good of the child, so we will decide who will be the best parents for this child. Who will have the opportunity to better welcome him, educate him and guide him in the future, relates the producer.
The biological bond must sometimes be broken for the good of the child
“Just 15 years ago, we were not concerned about how the baby felt, whereas today with advances in neuroscience, we are able to assess how a child is doing even though he or she has not yet learned to walk. nor the wordrejoices Mélissa Theuriau. Basile was born in secrecy, but we feel that he will develop happily: he eats very well, he watches Simone as his family assistant, he is going towards an adoption which is going very well today. On the other hand, Anne-Lise who arrives in placement without having been reassured by her mother, does not have the same awareness, there is already a broken link of non-trust in the adult who has been damaged“.
This documentary highlights the fact that the biological bond is not necessarily what will secure a baby. “We must put an end to this preconceived idea, sometimes a baby needs to be far from his family to thrive. There are still many judges who do not want to break the bond with the mother even though he is harmful, toxic or damaging“, regrets our interlocutor. Without giving lessons or comments, this film shows how a child can flourish once he is in a bubble of safety.
Placed babies, life ahead of them, broadcast on France 2 on Wednesday November 15 at 11 p.m. Thanks to Mélissa Theuriau.