Image from cassroomclipart.com
In my previous post, I mentioned the case of the father
pushing his daughter in a vehicle and being acquitted of the charges by the
Superior Court of Ontario. That case is unique and a situation like that may
not arise for every parent. So what guidelines do parents follow when deciding
to use spanking as a final resort? I found a great article, “The
"Spanking" Law: Section 43 of the Criminal Code” on the Parliament of
Canada website. It outlines what the government deems to be acceptable behavior
under the statutes.
This article describes reasonable force as “force must be
transitory and trifling, must not harm or degrade the child, and must not be
based on the gravity of the wrongdoing”. The definition describes that the
force must be transitory or trifling. That would mean that the effect of the
force should be short lasting and insignificant.
I believe, spanking should never be a means to embarrass,
degrade or put the child in a harmful situation. When instances like those
happen, I believe that is when a child will develop psychological effects from
a spanking.
Discipline should only be used in situations to correct
inappropriate behavior or to remove a child from a dangerous or harmful
situation. Children should always be spoken to on a level that is
understandable to them and age appropriate. I think it is important for a
parent to determine if the punishment provided will help a child to learn for
the future.
What kind of methods do you think are effective for both
discipline and teaching children valuable lessons for the future? Feel free to
comment below.
For parents trying to discipline as well is teach their children valuable lessons the first thing would be to tell the child why the act is wrong, and show them what the consequences of doing the act or behavior if they continue.
ReplyDelete