Image Credit: Mel Rothenburger

By Mel Rothenburger

Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Changing attitudes on use of spanking to discipline kids

Feb 25, 2023 | 6:46 AM

‘UP FRONT!’ I remember the words of my high school French teacher oh so well.

Learning French was a challenge for me; languages other than English don’t come easily.

Consequently, I and a few others had a bad habit of fooling around instead of memorizing “’J’entre dans la salle de class, je regarde autour de moi.” Our teacher didn’t take kindly to our attitude, and occasionally — his face red with rage — he uttered those feared words.

We knew what was coming next. On at least one occasion, I was the one charged, tried and convicted. His weapon of choice was a yardstick, and it hurt like hell. He was a strong believer that sparing the rod spoiled the child.

Flash forward to today and inflicting physical pain on kids is no longer used in the hallways of learning to discipline them but it still goes on in the home. Media coverage of a new public opinion poll leaves the impression corporal punishment still happens in schools but a quick check of legal developments contradicts that impression. The situation is confusing, though. In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada condemned the use of corporal punishment in schools but upheld its legality in the home. B.C. had already banned it in schools, becoming the first province to do so in 1973, and other provinces followed suit.

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Section 43 of Canada’s Criminal Code states that “Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force is reasonable under the circumstances.”

But the 2004 ruling removed corporal punishment from schools, restricting “force” by teachers to restraining a child who’s out of control. However, some say Section 43 is abused — there was a case last year alleging that students in a Yukon school were traumatized by being put in holds or isolation.

Teachers can’t hit children, and parents can’t act out of anger or retaliation, can’t use belts or rulers and “a child must never be hit or slapped on the face or head.”

I wish that last rule had been in effect the day the school principal called a friend and me into his office for rough-housing in the hallway after class, and accused us of breaking the door to a classroom.

“We never came close to breaking a door,” I objected, at which point he angrily walloped me across the face with his hand.

Today, he would have been out of a job or worse.

I was never spanked at home but it wasn’t uncommon in a lot of homes back then, and obviously continues to be favoured by some parents today.

According to a poll by Research Co. released last week, 51 per cent of Canadians feel all forms of corporal punishment against kids should be against the law and that Section 43 should be repealed.

That’s a big change from 2018, when 34 per cent agreed with a ban on spanking.

It’s an even bigger change from 1999, when a similar poll found that only 16 per cent of Canadians believed spanking should be an offence.

And that’s the way opinions on it have been moving — gradually, more and more people object to spanking.

It’s at least partly generational. Today, those who continue to support the concept of corporal punishment tend to be in older age groups. One might conclude that “old-schoolers” are dying out. Yet almost half of 18- to 35-year-olds say they have been physically punished as children.

What’s amazing is that almost half of Canadians still believe hitting kids is OK within the legal restriction of not leaving a bruise or mark. A 2021 study published by the Society for Research in Child Development found that spanking can affect brain development. (I know, some might say that given his experience in school, it explains a few things about the Armchair Mayor.)

The study found that kids whose parents used spanking as a discipline were more likely to develop anxiety, depression and behavioural problems.

“Spanking remains common around the world, despite evidence linking corporal punishment to detrimental child outcomes,” says the preamble.

“These findings suggest that spanking may alter neural responses to environmental threats in a manner similar to more severe forms of maltreatment.”

Many other studies support those findings. Some adults will say they were spanked as kids and it didn’t do them any harm, which might be true in their case, but it’s also true other studies confirm that, at the least, it’s ineffective.

In almost all of Europe and South America, spanking is banned and rightly so. Even China is committed to full prohibition. Canada stands with the U.S., Russia, Australia and many African countries in allowing it in some form.

There have been attempts in Parliament to repeal Section 43. A private member’s bill last year didn’t make it past second reading. It will undoubtedly come up again.

I eventually came to appreciate having to learn a bit of French. Not only was it good for reading cereal boxes but it gave me a greater appreciation for my country.

Fear of the ruler didn’t help my learning process, though.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, alternate TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.