Canadian controversy: Spanked Children Confiscated by Police
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Canadian controversy: Spanked Children Confiscated by Police
Ocean_Islands | Friday, July 06, 2001 - 09:41 am  Furor erupts as police seize spanked children JOHN SAUNDERS 07/06/2001 The Globe and Mail Metro Page A1 "All material Copyright (c) Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved." Seven children aged 6 to 14 have been removed from their home in Aylmer, Ont., because their parents, who accept the literal truth of the Bible, refuse to promise they will never again hit them with switches if they disobey. Their pastor, Rev. Henry Hildebrandt of the Aylmer Church of God, said the couple have resorted to corporal punishment in the past, believing it is wrong to spare the rod if other methods fail. He said police, acting on a request from child-welfare workers, carried the children from the house on Wednesday after friends and relatives tried to prevent them from being taken. "They didn't want to go. As they were coming out I was standing out there in the parking lot and the children just put their arms out and they said, 'Help me, help me!' " "I said I would gladly do it, but I can't." He said the parents are German-speaking immigrants in their 30s who came from a Mennonite agricultural community in Mexico. They settled in Aylmer, a Southwestern Ontario town of 7,000, and joined his church about two years ago after picking crops in the area for a number of summers, he said. Mr. Hildebrandt said his congregation believes that Proverbs 13:24 -- "He that spareth his rod hateth his son" -- is a direction to parents. "I'll be quick to say that rod doesn't mean an iron rod, it doesn't mean something that would bruise them. We are very particular about what we would use, but we do believe that it [corporal punishment] teaches and we do believe that it works in our time to do it just like it's written." The four boys and three girls have been put in foster care until their parents appear in court next week. Steve Bailey, executive director of Family and Children's Services of St. Thomas and Elgin, said he could not discuss the case but could speak generally about the official line on corporate punishment. "Spanking per se is not child abuse," he said. ". . . Things that would be more concerning to us would be discipline that causes injuries. We would look at whether there's any use of inanimate objects, such as belts or cords or sticks. And then, of course, we're concerned about whether there are any observable injuries." Mr. Hildebrandt said the parents let the child-welfare workers check the children for signs of injury before they were taken away and none were found. Aylmer police issued a statement saying officers had to ask the Ontario Provincial Police for help because "family members and friends arrived at the residence and hampered the initial apprehension effort," but the children were "subsequently taken into interim custody without incident." The permissibility of spanking and other physical punishment has long been a matter of dispute. Last year, an Ontario Superior Court judge in Toronto ruled that spanking does not violate children's constitutional rights. The Criminal Code allows the use of force by a number of people in authority for "correction" if it "does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances." |
Juju2bigdog | Friday, July 06, 2001 - 10:10 am  Hey, Ocean, been wondering where you are hiding. Glad to see you still have your finger on the pulse.
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Bijoux | Friday, July 06, 2001 - 10:36 am  Seems as though there is more to this story than what has been reported. Who contacted the authorities and why? Were bruises previously seen on the children? In general though I have a big problem with people selectively using religion to legitimize their actions. Many things are said in the bible and I'm sure the congregation does not follow and do every single one of them. |
Ocean_Islands | Friday, July 06, 2001 - 12:40 pm  Are you saying that spankers are child abusers? |
Bijoux | Friday, July 06, 2001 - 12:50 pm  In general, no. That's why I think that there is more to this story than what was written up. I don't think that spanking is necessary to discipline children. Plently of effective alternatives exist. What do you think Ocean? |
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