Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 6 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 11 months ago by
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I hear it is against the law in Canada to spank. Is it only excessive spanking, or anything, even a swat? Do people actually get arrested or fined for this? I only spank as a last resort and to prevent my kids from dangerous situations like running in the road, and I enjoy the freedom of choice. How do Canadians feel about your country telling you how you can raise your kids?
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Name : Tanya S., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 26, City : Flint, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Photographer, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,It is tragic that lawmakers have reacted to child abuse by invoking another kind of child abuse – no spanking. Until a child reaches the age of understanding, education applied to the seat of understanding is effective, if the purpose is to discpline the child. I live in Alberta. However, in Ontario, it is my understanding that parents can be disciplined for PUBLICLY spanking a child. In all fairness, even before the law was there, disciplining a child in public is humiliating. It is best done privately behind closed doors. The law is meant for the betterment of society, but sometimes lawmakers get carried away and make a bad situation worse by passing short-sighted laws.
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Name : John-U, Gender : M, Religion : Christian, City : Edmonton, Alberta, State : NA, Country : Canada, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,Who ever said black people are the most racist people in America is a gotdamn liar. White people are number on in America for committing hate crimes. But I must admit I am a racist only because of the racism you crackas have dished out towards me.
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Name : shemurah-h, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 17, City : East. St. Louis, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : nine, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,I was surprised by your question, ‘Do people actually get arrested or fined for this?’. Why WOULDN’T they get arrested or fined? Are you implying it’s okay to hit/hurt a child? Freedom of choice, as you put it, should NOT involve the right to choose whether or not to beat your child. Kudos to Canada for passing a law that is trying to stop child abuse. Just like it’s never okay to hit/hurt a fellow adult, it’s NOT okay to hit/hurt/touch a child’s body. Even if the child is misbehaving, that doesn’t mean he or she should be treated inhumanely–having their body beaten. Violence should never be used on anyone, especially children.
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Name : Chris, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 32, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Author, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I am from Finland, so i am not commenting on spanking in Canada, but i want to tell about the common opinion in Finland. In my knowledge spanking children is illegal in Finland and i think that´s the way it definitely should be. What kind of parenting is it to show that physical abuse (of any kind) acceptable in solving a problem? And what kind of example is it to show to children that physically bigger/stronger people can get their will by using violence (that´s exactly what it is). If you don´t agree with me, perhaps you could check some statistics of violent crimes in different countries. Tanya and others: you should consider your children as human beings who (even more than adults) have a right to physical integrity!
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Name : Heli21493, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 26, City : Turku, State : NA, Country : Finland, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Yes and no. Depends on the definition. Specifically, physical abuse can include anything intentional that causes bruises or other injury, terrorizing or humiliating, any degree of sexual contact, and/or neglect. As for your inquiry, spanking with anything other than an open hand is a form of abuse, and excessive spanking that leaves bruises is also abuse. Various social and police groups will take action if it is believed that children are being harmed. In serious cases, children can be taken away from their parents. Fines and criminal charges can be levied if the circumstances warrant. After all, abuse can be considered assault. You might be interested to know that abuse can also be psychological or emotional: Neglect is a form of child abuse. Parents are required to provide children with the necessities of life until age 16. By law, children under 12 cannot be left alone to look after themselves or younger siblings. As for how we Canadians feel? Well, our country isn’t telling us how we can raise our kids – we ARE the country, and these laws arise from popular and caring opinion. The basic ability to procreate does not guarantee parenting skill and most people can’t be bothered to even learn the basics of child development and healthy interaction. The law itself may not be universally popular, although I personally don’t know anyone who objects to it, but better to (over)protect the kids than to allow overuse of or misapplied physical ‘discipline’. Anyway, from up North, seems we have a lot more personal freedom than the ‘lockstep’ format in the USA…..(religion, marriage formats, health care come to mind, sorry to say, but the vast majority of Canadians feel we have far greater personal freedom, legally and socially, than citizens of the USA).
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Name : Senuf, City : Edmonton, State : NA, Country : Canada,I remember my kids coming home from elementary school and telling me that it was against the law to spank them. I invited them to try me. There have indeed been some cases here in Ontario as well as some challenges to the current law. The challenges resulted in some clarification: parents and other caregivers are indeed permitted to use reasonable force to discipline their children. However, ‘reasonable force’ includes hands only (no instruments) and frowns on any sort of public humiliation. I think this is a just law and as a parent I can work within it. In general I have not found physical punishment useful. I don’t think that punishment is an effective way to deal with children, with only occasional exceptions. And my recollection is that the frequent strappings we took from the Brothers in Catholic high school produced precisely the opposite effect to what was intended. One case that made a lot of headlines here in Ontario involved an Illinois man, a father of a 5-year old girl who spanked her bare bottom on the hood of the car in a restaurant parking lot. (She had intentionally slammed the car door on her 2-year old brother’s hand.) I did feel sorry for the father. I think that had he done the spanking inside the car or if the girl had been left fully-clothed, there would have been no case.
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Name : George, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 54, City : Toronto, Ontario, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Evaluation researcher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,
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