Is spanking harmful? I just spanked my kid.

What the evidence says

The Canadian Paediatric Society strongly advises against any physical punishment, including spanking, and recommends positive, non-physical discipline instead. Most pediatric organizations, in Canada and internationally, take this position, though Canadian law still technically allows parents limited, reasonable physical correction under narrow conditions. On the research itself, large meta-analyses of longitudinal studies find that children who are spanked have somewhat higher rates of externalizing behaviour (aggression, defiance), internalizing problems (anxiety, low mood), and slightly lower cognitive scores later on, compared with children who are not.

However, these are correlational findings from observational studies, not randomized trials, so they show a link rather than definitive proof that spanking itself causes the harm. Some researchers argue that once you control for a child's earlier behaviour and other family factors, the effect sizes become very small; others maintain the association is meaningful and consistent with clinical concern. Under Canadian criminal law, Section 43 still permits parents to use limited, reasonable force for correction, generally interpreted as an open-handed swat to the buttocks of a child aged roughly 2 to 12, without objects and not in anger.

There is an active push in Parliament to repeal this section, but as of the most recent information available it has not been repealed. One spanking incident is not something to panic over, but the overall evidence and clinical guidance point toward using non-physical strategies like time-outs, natural consequences, and positive reinforcement, which are considered at least as effective without the associated risks.