>>>>>>>>>This just happens to be from my hometown newspaper in Portage, WI:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>http://portagedailyregister.com/news/49a11bd6-a139-11dd-840c-001cc4c03286.html
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Yes. It's the adult throwing a tantrum and step to escalation. Those who say it's benign because they "were raised that way and turned out fine" undermine their own argument—if truly benign, it can be done without. I was once in a class taught by Joseph Chilton Pierce and I like his take on going corporal: it's gets a child's attention but is evidence of the adult's lack of creativity. My son is 5 y/o, well behaved and very empathic. i.e. no paddle required. But then, I am not a fundamentalist of any sort. So I'd be willing to make an exception: if found guilty, let the judge/jurors paddle the pastor. On youtube. ;-)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I think a spanking with a paddle, the hand, even a belt is just another tool in a parent's toolchest. I probably didn't spank my three kids more than a handful of times each, but at some point they all crossed the line and had to be dealt with. I've always thought it was a last resort. Timeouts and loss of privelages and such usually work. When they don't you move up the force continuum.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>So same question I put to Bonnie. If an adult does something of which you don't approve, is it ok to hit the person? Or is it only ok to hit children?
>>>>>
>>>>>So everything is equal? A child can drive a car, purchase a gun, drink whiskey, etc? No, they can't and so your argument is specious.
>>>>
>>>>Nonsense. This isn't about what a child is allowed to do. It's what an adult is allowed to do, and hitting a child should not be one of those things. As I said before, hitting a child who can't hit back is just bullying.
>>>
>>>What's wrong with a parent bullying a child a bit, if the child deserves it?
>>
>>It turns out more bullies in their turn. You tell the kid it's ok to use bullying if he doesn't like something. Bad idea.
>
>The only problem I have with that statement is that it appears to be a generalization or universal. If it were true, everyone who grew up in the 50s (when 95% of parents believed in spanking) would be bullies.

Very few things in life are universal. But how are you going to know until it's too late? Sure you can hit the kid and hope, but to me that's just a bad idea. Of course kids don't always follow a parent's example. A drunk parent does not necessarily mean the kid will grow up to be a drunk, but it's still a lousy example to set. So is the example that if somebody does something you don't like, then it's ok to use violence and hit the person.