I quit reading after your first sentence. Wow, are you serious?
Is that the same as hitting your child? Doesn't that hurt?
Spanking is child abuse and should be forbidden.
It really depends upon the child.
I'm the type of person that can be entertained by thought, alone. So grounding me is not really all that effective, particularly considering I'm a rather reserved person who doesn't really have an exceptionally adventurous social life.
Spanking worked with me, mostly, because I saw that I had disappointed or upset my parents to a large degree. Eh - sure, spanking was not pleasant... but punishment isn't really supposed to be pleasant. Honestly, though, I was more flustered by the fact that I had upset my parents than the fact that I got a swat on the rear.
Though the belt was particularly effective. My dad maybe spanked me with his belt three times in my life... however - when he came home from work and took of his belt - the sound of a belt clearing belt-loops instantly reminded me of anything mom had told me to do that day that I had failed to accomplish (or any 'crimes' I had committed and hoped would not be discovered). And I went and did those things - because I did not want my parents to have reason to be so displeased with me that they would administer punishment.
Though in that - my parents were kind of asymetric. My dad was the level headed one. If he decided I was getting a spanking (and he never made rash decisions about it) - I was getting a spanking... there was no avoiding it. It was rarely more than one swat on the rear - but the sheer fact that you were being put on a sort of trial was punishment in and of itself. My mom, on the other hand - had a lightning-fast backhand that would reflexively smite you for back-talk. Thus - I learned to think about what I said before I let the words come out of my mouth.
It was then, somewhat ironic, that she would often be critical of when my father would administer spankings (this was because my grandpa - her father - was not well liked by her and her brothers because of the way he treated them and their mother... he had a very totalitarian way of running things that was not necessarily violent - but just degrading - and she did not want us kids to grow up fearing or begrudging our dad).
Anyway .... so spanking worked for me.
My youngest brother, though... you could beat the shit out of that kid and he'd look at you like: "What? That's all you've got? **** you. I'm doing what I want." ... And he would not correct his behavior to avoid getting a spanking. He didn't care. It's no surprise - he had two older brothers he was contending with. A dad-administered spanking was basically how we greeted each other.
But he did like to be the center of attention. My parents soon found that having him stand with his nose in the corner while everyone else continued to have fun and enjoy each others' company. He would break down into a sobbing mess if he was put into the corner, particularly if we had company over. And he did learn to behave because if he didn't - he had to sit out of the fun, games, and attention.
The monkey in the middle never really got out of line too much. He had to compete with the attention seeker at the bottom and my authoritarian regime at the top. About the worst trouble he'd get into was when he would start off on strange little tinkerneering projects of his that went beyond what he should have done, himself... like the time he decided to try and nail a "chin up bar" (made out of wood panneling, by the way) to his door frame. That was kind of comical - and had he actually tried it - the results would have been lesson enough, I think.
None of us are perfect - but I think we turned out okay - considering we were largely raising ourselves after mom contracted cancer and passed away. Then dad passed away a few years later.
I don't think it was just that they disciplined us. They disciplined us because they loved us and wanted us to know how to behave and respect each other (as well as other people). That was the more important principle underlying the whole thing. Even without the discipline to penalize us for doing things we shouldn't do - they mostly acted the way responsible humans should... they showed us how to do the things we should be doing, rather than simply telling us what not to do.
That's the two-sided coin to discipline. On one hand - you punish bad behavior... and on the other - you demonstrate and reinforce good behavior.
