I don’t think I remember being spanked much as a kid, aside from the traditional birthday ones. Maybe it actually happened once, but it was the threat of it that kept me in line. I thought that spanking was outlawed years ago but according it a check on the status online, it is still permitted.
In Canada, parents may use physical force to discipline their children, including spanking, but there are several restrictions.
Section 43 of the Criminal Code provides that parents may use “reasonable” force as a form of discipline.[23] The constitutionality of this provision was challenged in the courts, on the basis that it infringed the rights of children, contrary to three sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: the right to security of the person, protected by section 7 of the Charter; the right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment and punishment, protected by section 12 of the Charter; and the right to equality (specifically, age), protected by section 15 of Charter. In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the constitutional challenge on all grounds, on a 6–3 split, in Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada.[24]
Check it out for yourself,
Child corporal punishment laws
The reason I looked into this is the announcement this week of a change in Wales. It is now illegal after what is being called a “‘historic moment’ for children’s rights”
Wales introduces ban on smacking and slapping children
The article title alone seems wrong to say in today’s world, hard to believe that until now this was ok in the eyes of the law.
