Spare the Child

Spare the Child: Ending Childhood Corporal Punishment
by Ailsa M. Watkinson
Published by University of Regina Press
Review by Toby A. Welch  
$29.95 ISBN 9781779401045

When a University of Regina Press book lands on my radar, I know with 100% certainty that I’m about to dive into an entertaining and informative read. Enter Spare the Child – another U of R Press title that proves difficult to  summarize in just a few paragraphs. 

The Criminal Code of Canada declares that it is a violation to apply force upon another without their consent, yet section 43 states that teachers, parents, and caregivers can use reasonable force to correct a
child. Spare the Child focuses on section 43, the history of corporal punishment against children in Canada, examples of cases, and the right that children have to safety and protection. It is a powerful read that often took my breath away.

Watkinson packs the chapters with fascinating research that deepen the discussion. For example, in the section on Indigenous children and their historical realities, we read that in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, between 1941 and 1945 it is estimated that fifty percent of the children who passed through residential schools died. In the chapter on current research and child well-being, researchers documented a connection between child physical punishment and increased levels of bullying, dating and family violence, homicide, and physical aggression, among other behaviours. Perhaps one of the most disheartening statistics is that in 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that section 43 does not violate the constitutional rights of children.

Although it spans fewer than a dozen pages, my favorite section in Spare the Child was What Have Other Countries Done? Sixty-seven countries have banned all forms of child physical punishment in homes, schools, and institutions with parents facing criminal penalties in some cases. This section focuses mainly on Sweden, Finland, Germany, Cyprus, and New Zealand. As the German civil code states, “Children have a right to be reared without violence.”

The terminology section at the front of the book helped clarify the subject matter ahead. For example, there are differences between child maltreatment, child physical abuse, and child physical punishment that I was unable to articulate before reading this book. I frequently referred back to the definitions as I worked through the complexities of the topic.

Despite the research-heavy content, Watkinson writes in a clear and accessible way. Spare the Child never feels academic or dry, even when discussing court rulings, statistics, and historical realities faced by children in Canada. The level of organization and the straightforward language make an emotionally difficult topic easier to understand. 

As expected when I cracked open Spare the Child, this was an eye-opening and deeply insightful read. More than anything, the book challenges readers to reconsider long-held assumptions about discipline, protection, and children’s rights in Canada. Whether or not we have children, the realities of section 43 affect us all. 

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