I don't think there is anything wrong with spanking. There is a difference between spanking and beating. I don't think it is always the necessary form of discipline, but when it is needed, it is needed. Kids today are totally rude, inconsiderate and of the mindset that they are untouchable. Teachers, authority figures, parents and even relatives have been undermined and treated poorly because kids today have no morals and no respect. DISCIPLINE is extremely important. I believe in spanking, though I rarely had to spank my 3 children, they definately grew up knowing that was a possibility. I have very respectful children who I am very proud of.

A child is like a blank canvas, when the child is born they know nothing! It is totally the parents responsibility to teach that child right from wrong and show them that there IS consequences for doing wrong!
they only know what is in front of them and repeat it enough consistently they will respond in a positive way!If not it will most likely be negative!
I work in a restaurant and you see both sides and trust me when I say this (KIDS WANT AND NEED DICIPLINE!!!)they will respect the parent thats what this is about RESPECT.
If they dont respect their own parents they will NEVER respect anyone else so the parent has set them up for a big disaster!!!
You go to any prison and ask the inmates if they would or could change something in their life what would it be? I will bet you they say not to be in here,and i will also bet that they were abused either mentally,emotionally, or physically (which stems to emotionally)so i put the responsibility on the parents directly!!!
I will say im sorry to those who do noy agree with me now, and yes theres a but!!
But that child spent the first 3 or more years with their parent who they look up to for support and dicipline and they should have taught them better!!!!
I see it all the time a child cries for something until he gets it and some parents treat the situation different than others. But the thing that i see is the ones that were brought up with dicipline and some authority never cry. they know that no means no not i will just cry some more until they give in which i really see alot of.
parents dont give small children enough credit they learn very fast that if they cry they get what they want which is good for awhile but soon they take it to the next level which is where the parent comes in and says no and sticks to it no matter what!!!
I guess i have said enough I hope this helps at least one person.

My children are grown and yes I did spank them. My main reason for spanking was if they were doing something that would cause harm to themselves or someone else,(re: running into the street). One of my children turned out great, the other one probably needed more spankings, because she does dangerous things. You never know if you are doing the right thing or not, you do the best that you can and pray that they turn out good.

There are many ways in which humans, at all ages, learn to live more safely and healthily. One manner is through acknowledgement and avoidance of pain. In fact is probably the single greatest priority in our automatic responses to the environment- pain alters our behaviors in order to warn of danger and motivate us to alter our current situation to reduce that pain. Closely related to the biologic, unlearned, innate aspects of pain response (even sea snails respond in primitive but like fashion) is the primary emotion of fear. It is not the only emotion nor is it always the victor in emotional responses but it does function with a priority among our emotions-again to preserve, safeguard, and alter our behaviors for the purpose of survival and sustained health.
To deny one is to deny the other--the absence of pain or fear will guarantee you will not be here long.
Spanking or corporal punishment need to be clearly defined to avoid creating a 'straw man' or 'red herring' by conflating/mixing in many related but different issues.
Can corporal punishment ( or any punishment for that matter) be a positive thing under any circumstances or is it always and completely an unhealthy, negative, and harmful intervention?
I believe we would be hard pressed to broaden the meaning of punishment or 'spanking' into such a condition without jettisoning our entire sense of moral accountablity as an essential component of humanity. That the legal and mental health/medical fields see punishment through different colored lenses is fairly clear. One wants to define aberrant or harmful behaviors as illness and the other wants to define them as volitional violations of the necessary principles upon which a collective society much build. Which is right? How do we decide? Is it truly one or the other or is this also a conflation and 'straw man' for the purposes of maintaining what one already holds to be true at the expense of rejecting additional data?
The condition of children is especially poignant in light of their smaller size, earlier moral and emotional development, evolving capacity for abstract thought about "should/should not", and the power differential resulting from these and other factors.
I would suggest that spanking, like any painful experience in nature or human families, has its place. It can have positive consequences and can be applied in a non-abusive manner. It can, in the actions of a loving, respectful parent convey not only messages of disapproval but messages that model the real world and the pain that is greater if learning/avoidance of some behaviors goes unaddressed. Perhaps more importantly, when properly used, conveys the sense of agency and moral accountability to a child--they are capable of and 'should' alter their behaviors in line with the guidance of a loving, informed, respecting, and cautious parent.

One might object that "sure, but where are all these loving, informed, respecting, and cautious parents?" And this is the beginning of this dialogue. They are out there-they do exist-they understand the dangers inherent in arbitrarily applied harsh punishments/spanking; they feel within themselves the need to monitor themselves for the ever-present temptation of punishment from a simple 'will to power' over another human being (no supermen or women here); they do note the fear that arises in their hearts as they punish that it may be more an expression of my aggression and anger than a true desire for a communicative, reaffirming act of the moral ability and accountability of thier child. And if there is even one parent, one circumstance under which such punishment can be applied in a compassionate, respectful, and morally accountable manner--then the assessment that corporal punishment should 'never' be used is false and the possibility that corporal punishment may have a place in child discipline is a true.

For those parents who cannot be in this postive mind-set, who use punishment as a lazy excuse to simply punish (not discipline) your child for disrupting you, inconveniencing you, distracting you from your TV/beer/poker game,telephone calls,gossip, or any number of other reasons-then corporal punishment is wrong and is harmful. Parenting is hard, full-time work. Your child is not a convenient receptacle for all your pent up life frustrations, disappointments, and projected feelings of inadequacy (the boss yells at me so I kick the cat (or wife, or child) when I get home).
Discipline is for the benefit of your child. If you cannot maintain this mind-set when spanking then it is wrong, a distorted application of a useful tool. And I would suggest it is the misapplication that is the real objectionable issue rather than the spanking itself. The spanking is just the magnifying glass of suboptimal parenting and the harbinger of abusive parent-child relationships--and this 'should' be discouraged. But the appropriate response is not to throw out the tool box but to help parents be better at what they do, at being more self-aware, or being more emotionally intelligent. And this is a Herculean task for many parents for many reasons will reject this idea, will refuse this scrutiny until by violation it becomes a societal, public issue-and then the harm is often done. For this type of situation, I am in full agreement that spanking is always wrong. But for those who care, are self-controlled, insightful enough, restrained to 'do no harm', it has a valuable place.

Perhaps the near-impossiblity of the task is why an easier answer is just to say "all forms of corporal punishment are to be opposed." But when someone dances poorly and steps on your feet would we suggest they forever give up dancing? or that they learn to dance better? And what if we assist them in becoming better dancers without spanking them and ursurping their parenthood?

Children and many other power-disadvantaged groups are all open to 'spanking' of some form or another. It is our collective duty to improve the lot of every man, woman, and child in reaching their human fullness.

But this 'help' extends only up to the point where we begin to professionally label them as 'sick' instead of wrong and then prescribe to instead of discipline them.

When we reach such a point then only the elite, technologically or professionally advanced will be able to 'prescribe' the right correctives and the sense of responsible, moral agency will have been discarded under the guise of some greater insight by some intelligentsia who presume themselves beyond the same abusive behaviors and mindsets they seek to control.

And in the end we will have the same problems but now a hundred fold worse- all reduced down to some professional standard that equally arises from other/but equivalent human hearts and minds, with an equal propensity to misapply discipline and disguise punishment.

Spanking has a place in child discipline-but is ideally should be minimal, applied carefully and under emotional self-control for the benefits of someone we love and desire to see grow in their sense of self-agency and regard-true self-esteem. 90% or more of child discipline can effectively be managed by proactive parenting, rewarding the right behaviors in the right manner, thus encouraging the adoption of healthy behaviors and attitudes about life and other beings. But that 10% or less of the time, pain, aversive stimuli, and punishment have a role--and nature has placed it in high priority so that information of this type will improve our quality of life and enhance our survivability and instill a sense of efficacy in each other as well as our children.