One-third of Canadians still approve of spanking children, while 53% think it’s wrong to yell: new poll

A new Leger report found that six in 10 Canadians experienced corporal or physical punishment as children. Photo by Christopher Furlong /Getty Images

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A new Leger survey shows that “a slight majority” of Canadians believe childhood corporal punishment, such as spanking, is unacceptable. While 53 per cent say physically punishing children is wrong, 40 per cent think it’s appropriate at least in some situations.

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“We were a little bit surprised that a fairly sizable portion of the Canadian population will still physically discipline their child and feel that’s OK. It’s probably not the same degree as it was a generation ago, but a bit of it still exists, for sure,” says Andrew Enns, executive vice president of Leger’s Central Canada operations.

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Six in 10 Canadians say they experienced physical punishment as children, with the highest likelihood in older respondents (68 per cent among those aged 55 and older), according to Leger’s Use of Corporal Punishment on Children report.

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Canadians who were physically punished in their own childhoods are more likely to find all of the disciplinary actions and behaviours toward children tested in the report more acceptable than those who weren’t. For example, 51 per cent of those who received physical punishments condone yelling at a child, 45 per cent consider slapping a child on the hand, arm or leg acceptable, and 43 per cent agree with spanking.

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“In some respects, there’s a little bit of, ‘I recall when I was a child receiving corporal punishment, and I turned out OK, and therefore I’m bringing some of that mindset forward,’” says Enns. “We see degrees of what’s acceptable and not acceptable in terms of physical punishment, like hitting a child in the head or something like that. Those forms are unacceptable. With spanking, which is probably the most common for a lot of the older generation, there’s a more sizeable portion of the Canadian population or parents that still find that reasonable.”

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Overall, roughly one-third of respondents approve of spanking (32 per cent) or slapping a child on the hand, arm or leg (35 per cent).

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In addition to the Canadians who were disciplined physically as children (52 per cent), the report found that acceptance of corporal punishment is significantly higher among Albertans (55 per cent) and men (46 per cent). Quebecers (64 per cent) and women (59 per cent) are more likely to consider it unacceptable.

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Non-physical disciplinary measures, including removing privileges (88 per cent), using timeouts (81 per cent), and sending a child to their room to calm down (78 per cent), are largely accepted by Canadians.

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“Where there’s a physical interaction, then you start to see a real drop off,” says Enns, adding that even yelling at a child has mixed acceptance, with 53 per cent of Canadians considering it out of line.

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When it comes to witnessing physical punishment in public, 18 per cent of Canadians say they would intervene directly, and 20 per cent would report the incident without active involvement. At 21 per cent, parents are more likely to say they would step in, while 36 per cent of respondents say they wouldn’t take action because it’s none of their business, a share that’s even higher in men (42 per cent).