Updated Fri. Jun. 20 2008 8:37 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The lawyer for a Quebec man whose daughter took him to court to challenge her father's grounding punishment says that he will appeal a ruling that he had no right to ban his child from a school trip.
Kim Beaudoin, lawyer for the man, told CTV's Canada AM that the father wants to reclaim the parental authority he lost when his daughter took him to court.
"You can imagine that he has no authority towards this child anymore," Beaudoin said.
"If she comes back home, the reaction will be every time he gives a punishment, well, you know, I can always bring you to court. That's not the situation you want in your family."
Beaudoin said that the father also wants to spare other parents from having to go through a similar situation.
The man had told his 12-year-old daughter that she could not go on a three-day trip with her classmates after she got into an argument with her stepmother. The father had also banned the girl from using the Internet after he found out she posted pictures of herself on a dating website.
The father has custody of the girl, but she went to live with her mother after the family fight.
The girl took her case to Quebec Superior Court, where Justice Suzanne Tessier ruled that the man had no right to ban his daughter from the trip.
After the court ruling, the girl did go on the trip, a short class jaunt through Quebec to celebrate graduation from the sixth grade.
The judge said that the father's punishment could not stand because the girl is now living with her mother. Tessier also said that banning the girl from the trip was excessive punishment.
However, Beaudoin said that the father had told the girl at the beginning of the school year that she could go on the trip if her behaviour was good throughout the year.
The man was "stunned" when his daughter brought the case to court.
"He was so firm on the fact that he had given a punishment and he wanted that punishment to be maintained," Beaudoin said.
"He never thought that she'd bring this to court."
In today's society, children have so much power over their parents or guardians. It's really sad that a 12 year old would take her own father to court due to some minuscule reason of not beeing able to go to a school trip, which wasn't even really an educational trip.
I find that parents have less and less authority over their kids due to rights these kids have. All I can say is the children in our current society are very spoiled! Spoiled enough that they walk all over their parents! The people who gave them life, took care of them, fed them, and gave them all what they wanted.
Now, that could be a problem too, due the fact that parent nowadays are very lenient with their kids especially when it comes to punishments. What the heck is a TIME OUT anyway? Ok, some parents refuse to spank and I respect that, I really do. However, does it work? Maybe in some situations, maybe it doesn't.
This 'time out' is consist of a place or an area or a chair, where you would put the child who is on 'time out". It suppose to be a punishment?
Now, I am assuming the kid should be thinking, contemplating what he/she has done? Maybe thinking about going on a religious journey in Tibet?
Ahhh I don't think so! It might work for some kids, but I think that this kind of technique is still weak and later on, the kid will still walk all over the parents.
I, as a parent believe in spanking as a technique for disciplining children. I find that kids just don't take their parent seriously anymore and as result, parents ends up in, well in this case, court. Why? Because kids do not have respect anymore...Not only to their parents but in general! All of these of course reflect againts the parents.
As I was saying, I believe in spanking, why? Because I was spanked as a kid and I turned out pretty ok (I think).. No Seriously, I was spanked, oh no, not just a measly little spoon, it was a BELT!
Now, think about that - Your parents ask you to tidy up your room and you don't obey and whack! You just felt a thin piece of leather swinging at your butt - soon enough, your parents won't have to ask you again.
It's all about associating something painful or unpleasant when a child disobeys. I am having a hard time associating unpleasant to time out - Sounds like fun!
What has our world gone to? What happened to young kids who would help their parents do dishes, laundry, milk the cow and so on? Time definitely has changed, but parents should still reinforce what worked back then. It should still apply, right?
Ok, now you probably think Lex is all bruised up and all that. No, not at all - It's all about the balance of punishment and taking control afterwards and make them understand that they have done something bad. Talk to your kids after you spank them, make them still trust you and respect you even though you just laid on your callus infected hand on their very sensitive butt.
That is all I can say - Call me what you want, but that works for us!
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