This article examines the dynamics of coercion for child protection purposes in the penal and civil spheres in Switzerland. Based on court files and interviews with judges, it describes the way in which the protective logic is combined in the penal sphere with security imperatives, giving rise to a “continuum of coercion”. In the civil sphere, a coercion with a wide spectrum and variable intensity is deployed to regulate "parental deviances" whose boundaries are blurred and controversial. The article finally underlines the tension between the flexibility of the legal framework and the proceduralization that runs through this field.