The mother of a five-year-old Francis Patton pupil is questioning why the school principal ?strapped? her son.

Now the Department of Education is looking into the matter. The mother, who simply wanted to be known as Mrs. Dill, said a few weeks ago her son came home and told her the principal had used a belt to strike him twice across his hands.

Mrs. Dill said her son claimed he was defending himself against another pupil who had slapped him. His teacher spotted him kicking the boy in return.

Mrs. Dill admitted that her son was no angel and was possibly hyperactive, but doctors could not medicate him until he was at least seven.

She described her son as a very energetic little boy with a short attention span, adding that his 11-year-old sister was diagnosed as hyperactive.

?Everyday there is a complaint about him, but instead of strapping him, they should just put him in detention during the lunch break or something.?

Mrs. Dill said she called the school and left a message for the principal Gloria Martin to call her back, but this never happened.

So the next day she went to see his teacher.

?The teacher showed me the code of conduct which says they?re allowed to do this to him,? she said.

This horrified her because she was not allowed to punish him at home by hitting him, so why should the school?

This sentiment was echoed by the chairman of the Coalition for the Protection of Children, Sheelagh Cooper who said Bermuda was in the dark ages when it came to corporal punishment.

Mrs. Dill was calling for the Code of Conduct to be reviewed and changed as it did not distinguish between different ages.

?How can you justify the same punishment for a 16-year-old, for a five-year-old??

Ms Martin was not available for comment yesterday.