CANADA: Should spanking be allowed under Canadian law? CBS poll results

Submitted by crinadmin on

Summary: Yes, the limits set out by the Supreme Court in 2004 are reasonable. 35.16% (2,111 votes)
Yes, but the limits set out by the Supreme Court are too strict. 8.44% (507 votes)
No, there's never a reason to hit a child. 54.76% (3,288 votes)
I'm not sure. 1.63% (98 votes)
Total Votes: 6,004

The Canadian Children's Rights Council comment was the most voted up comment on the poll (click on "Highest rated") getting 330 thumbs up and three thumbs down for a net ranking of 327 thumbs up: 

"The Canadian Children's Rights Council, along with over 400 such organisations takes the position that we eliminate spanking all together and change our criminal code. 

It should be replaced by proper parent education as part of national family friendly policy to make parents enjoy parenting more while their children have less violence in their lives. Such methods have proven to lower stress levels in parents, make parenting more enjoyable while substantially benefiting children.

Spanking does have a proven negative effect on the development of children in many ways including damage to children's cognitive development. 

We have a section on corporal punishment and children full of proper studies to prove it.

Unfortunately, it's the politicians NOT doing their job in dealing with this issue that caused the Supreme Court of Canada spanking case. The judges did their best within their limited scope of legal arguments. The issue is really more than that. The politicians need to hear, in committee, from all the children's hospitals and legitimate studies which show why spanking should be eliminated in conjunction with a major public parent education campaign to show parents the proper alternatives to corporal punishment.

Our prisons are full of adults who had terrible, violent childhoods.

The Canadian Children's Rights Council knows that children need discipline in their lives but people that truly don't know the better way to parent wrongly equate only spanking or the threat of violent behaviour to children with discipline. Even such violence as screaming and threatening children and other such bullying can make a child become violent and use such bullying with others because that is what they have been taught by their parent.

 

Strangely, the second most voted thumbs up comment was that made by a mother who admitted to striking her three-year-old and then the same child when he was 16. Her statement was an admission to criminal assault and was voted up by 248 people who obviously agree to criminal assault. She stated "..he got a good hard punch in the shoulder to tell him to NEVER, EVER speak to his mother like that."

The mother ended her comment by stating that she "struck my child",  which she stated was "teaching" the child rather than "abusing" him.

The mother's full comment stated: 

"Twice, I have struck my child. The first time he was three years old. He wrenched his hand out of mine and took off across the road without any warning, because he saw a little friend over there. He got one open-handed swat on the bum. He wasn't hurt, but he knew from my reaction that he had done something very, very bad.

The second time, he was a big strapping sixteen year old who was giving me a mouthful of sass. Despite the fact that I'm only five foot four, he got a good hard punch in the shoulder to tell him to NEVER, EVER speak to his mother like that. The look on his face again proved to me that he got the point.

If anybody were to tell me that I did wrong and that it was illegal, I would happily stand my ground in court.

There's a difference between teaching a child and abusing them."

 

Quote from the president of the Canadian Children's Rights Council;

"It's time for the Parliament of Canada to repeal section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada which allows assaults on children. Children need discipline but not spanking. Such a change in the law should be accompanied by a public health campaign to educate parents not just about this change in the law but about positive discipline principles taught by parent educators". 

 

References:

Alyson Schafer, parenting expert on our website:
http://www.canadiancrc.com/Alyson_Schafer_on_Corporal_Punishment.aspx

CBC Poll
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/02/should-spanking-be-allowed-under-canadian-law.html

Supreme Court of Canada - Spanking case http://www.canadiancrc.com/Child_Abuse/Supreme_Court_Case_Spanking.aspx

The list of organization supporting the repeal of Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada ia at: http://repeal43.org/supporting-orgs.html

A partial list of studies from reputable sources on spanking can be found at: http://repeal43.org/research.html

Parent Educators on positive parenting without spanking www.positiveparenting.com  www.alysonschafer.com 

 

Further Information:

Country: 
Canada
Issues: 
Physical punishment
Violence: 
Physical punishment

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.