Corporal Punishment or Abuse?

Corporal punishment is not a novice form of discipline in Caribbean households. In fact most of us grew up with sayings such as "Spare the rod and spoil the child" or "I bought you in this world and I can take you out". "Licks" has long been the go to disciplining method for many families. However, in this new age of gentle parenting, many are beginning to question whether parents' dependency on the "rod" to control their children's behaviour is causing more harm to the child's wellbeing than good. Therefore, what should we do? Should we spare the rod and risk spoiling the child? Should we as a society adopt the method of gentle parenting in grooming our nation's children?

Well, in response to a recent video circulating of a man using a phone charger to hit a young girl, the CEO of the Children's Authority, Sheldon Cyrus, has taken the stance that we need to shift from exercising corporal punishment on our children and reconsider our approach to discipline. Mr. Cyrus opined that rather than use physical force on children, parents should opt to consider non physical forms of punishment such as time-outs or even temporarily revoking the child's access to certain privileges.

The Children's Authority was again forced into action after another video resurfaced of a young boy kneeling outside the gate of his home with his hands in the air. In response, the Authority removed the young boy and his siblings from the home to commence investigations.

Time and time again more allegations of abuse and excessive force being used on children are emerging in our nation. Some of these cases have resulted in the untimely and gruesome deaths of our children as was the case of Hannah Mathura.

However, while hearing cases such as these stir sentiments of concern and anguish, should they be the basis on which we conclude the debate on banning corporal punishment or should they be deemed as exceptional cases of abuse?

This brings us to an important question. Should there be a distinction between abuse from corporal punishment?

Parliament seems to argree that there are instances where corporal punishment is reasonable. Section 4 of the Children's Act 2012 lays out the various instances in which abuse towards children constitutes an offence. However, s.4 (6) of this act still protects the parent, teacher and other persons with lawful control of a child to administer reasonable punishment. Section 7 qualifies that reasonable punishment shall not cover corporal punishment in relation to any other person other than a parent or guardian. Therefore, while only restricted to parents and guardians, the law appears to have taken the position that corporal punishment can reasonably be used by parents in disciplining their children.

While there may be rightful and understandable concerns on the effects of corporal punishment on the mental and physical state of our children, it is important for the law to maintain a balance between protecting our nations children from abuse and unduly forms of punishment while still allowing parents the freedom to discipline their children. We see this balance being maintained by the establishment of organisations such as the Children's Authority and the Child Protective Unit and also by such organisations utilising media to educate persons and parents and speaking out against abuse against the child.