Well, I've had mild smacking and spanking and there is definitely no harm in doing so. Then again, both instances were a rarity and only when I was being defiantly disobedient.

As others have said, there is a clear line between discipline and abuse. Trying to define specifically that line will only lead to parents "accidentally" crossing the line and much confusion and dispute. So the best thing is to forbid it altogether so there is no temptation to over-discipline your child.

As someone that was lovingly disciplined growing up, I definitely see the place for it. I never felt abused and grew up to be a really non-violent person. Heck, I've never even been in a fight in all my life.

BUT ... if the discipline isn't administered with love, then it has a better chance of becoming abuse. The key is BALANCE (something too many people lack in so many aspects of their lives). If you cut it out completely, kids often don't grasp the importance of limits. If you do it too much ... well, we all know the many traumatic results of that.

It just takes balance, folks. Sure, easy to say, hard to do. But when radical interpretations of what is too much (or too little) start to become state policy, then the ability for parents to discipline their children to the proper degree can be limited and thus generational issues with proper boundaries start bubbling to the fore.

I keep reading it as "Smoking Children: Good or Bad?"

Good, I say. Makes them look so much more sophisticated.

I don't know about this. I've never been hit in my life and I turned out alright, whereas I know of people who were hit countless times by their parents and grew to become scum.

I'm pretty sure it's an inefficient way of educating.

There is a big difference between beating and hitting.

Smacking =  bad
Spanking = good

He can adopt. I fail to see how he got banned for that but you didn't get banned for that hideously insensitive statement.

Some people still mix up the concepts of limit and violence.

Well said.

I think it is a good thing. It worked very well for me anyways.