Editor: I have the privilege, and yet sometimes difficult task of raising a three -and-a-half-year-old and a 2-year-old.

If you鈥檝e ever been a parent, you know that although there can be challenges, it is the most beautiful job in the entire world. I truly love being a mom.

Yet one challenge as a mom can be the area of discipline.

My children are energetic, curious, and strong-willed, and I鈥檝e had to channel and mould these characteristics.

For example, we went through a period when my son would want to turn the dials on our gas stove 鈥� incredibly dangerous. So at a young age, I would flick his hand and say 鈥渘o touch!鈥�

After a few times, he learned and it has not been a problem again.

Another example is that my daughter loved to run away in parking lots 鈥� again, very dangerous.

I would have to grab her arm and put her unwillingly into the car for a time-out. Again, this method of discipline worked for her and it hasn鈥檛 been an issue since.

A Senator recently introduced Bill S-206 and it will, if passed, remove section 43 from the Criminal Code that allows parents to use limited, minor force while they are disciplining their children.

Therefore, if I was to flick my son鈥檚 hand, or physically restrain my daughter, I would be considered a criminal.

Yes, I would be charged with assault for lovingly disciplining my child and preventing a very dangerous outcome.

This is not just an 鈥渁nti-spanking鈥� law, it is a law that dis-empowers a parent鈥檚 freedom and responsibility to raise children safely.

Sue Schouten,

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