Spanking debate no child’s play

The whole issue of spanking was front and centre in Ottawa last week As the Liberal-led Senate passed the third reading of Bill S-209, which proposes to eliminate a section of the criminal code that allows parents, teachers and caregivers to use reasonable force to discipline a child or correct behaviour. Some people argue situation-appropriate spanking will make a child listen and take heed of parents’ warnings. Others deem it to be clear-cut child abuse, or perhaps an example of poor parenting skills. For many others, though, the issue may fall somewhere in between. A gentle spank on the bottom of an unruly child who is teasing his younger sister may work, some parents argue. Critics of the bill also don't want the state to raise their children. However, it does make sense for the government to step in to ensure the most vulnerable members of our society are protected from harm, be it inappropriate discipline from their caregivers, to sexual abuse and child labour.

The main senator pushing for the bill made it clear she isn't suggesting parents who tap their child on the arm be arrested, but the bill would ban routine corporal punishment. 'Reasonable force' would only be allowed in three specific circumstances: preventing harm; preventing an act of criminal nature; or to prevent excessively offensive and disruptive behaviour. Parents crossing over these lines would then face assault charges.

It makes sense for the government to set some limits. If one father deems it appropriate to hit his six-year-old over the back with a hockey stick because he dented the garage door with a slapshot, that would be a case where the state should intervene. If a mother gives a two-year-old a tap on the hand for hitting someone, that doesn't require the law to crack down. People should have freedom to raise their child as they see fit, based on moral or religious views, but being a parent doesn't give you carte blanche to beat a child simply because you find parenting difficult and are unable to discipline or teach your child proper behaviour.

Bill S-209, first introduced in the Senate in 2004, still needs to be approved by the House of Commons in order to become law, and it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon. But the bill has encouraged debate. Hopefully, as a result, parents will evaluate the need to spank and share better-parenting ideas with others.