I prefer the psychological approach...

"Stop crying. Stop crying now. If you do not stop crying, you're head will dry out and you die a horrifying death of dehydration and smoldering brains."

Or the always enjoyable tentacle monster with suction limbs that enjoys licking tears of childrens faces...

i think it is wrong.

I think it's right, if done the right way and adequatly handled. getting spanked is usually more about the scare then it is about the pain itself. I always feared my fathers anger more then any spanking I got and that follow-up worked with me. Plus he always made up so i didn't fear him anymore, only my actions.

For instance, I recall when I was 6 or so and at some point I left the gate door open while playing though my parents said I should always lock it. The result: My dad's bike got stolen. Off course he was cross, I got a slap on my ass and send to my room. He later came in, explaining the situation etc, hugged me and from that point what I learned was: Dad good, dad love me, leaving gate door open = scary stuff happening. It worked brilliantly!

Plus, you know what generation was the first to not get spanked? The metrosexual generation. And for that I will beat the hardened chesthair out of my kid.

very good answer and I agree (and yes I was spanked too), but what if you have a girl

Do you know what the rule of thumb is? It said that you could hit your wife with a wooden stick, as long as it was no bigger than your thumb.

OT: I am strongly against it. I cannot understand how people believe that actually works. Sure, it may work, but there is  always a better way.

@Oyvo: THICKER, not bigger

kids who get beaten when young tend to beat their wifes/ kids themselves. I dont believe in any form of violence.

The only spanking I like is the one Rubang refers to.

If you believe in God, and the Bible, then according to him it is necessary and you hate your child if you never do.

But there is a difference between beating and punishing. It has worked for almost all of America's 40+ population, and it worked for large portions of the younger generation. I see more kids out of control now with parents who with just one quick smack would have their kids attention. However, a spanking is not the only form of discipline you should use.

I found this with a quick search (bolded parts of interest)

"While spanking is not illegal, bruising or otherwise injuring a child is. But what about mild spanking as a corrective measure? Is it a good idea? Spanking works best when coupled with other disciplinary measures, such as "time out." Research regarding behavior modification of children ages 2 to 6 found that spanking a child two times on either the rear or thigh helped improve compliance with "time out" for misbehavior. These children were more likely to remain in their room after acting up if a potential spank followed if they left before the time was up. Furthermore, pairing reasoning with a spanking in the toddler years delayed misbehavior longer than did either reasoning or spanking alone. Reasoning linked with a spank was also more effective compared with other discipline methods. Talking with the child about what behavior is expected and why-with the potential of a follow-up spank-worked best."

@faxandadu

it used to be that everyone spanked their child, so depending on how they interpret "beaten" then of course all current wife/child abusers were "beaten" when they were a child, so that is just misinformation.

(edit, didn't finish my sentance)

@nordlead:

http://www.local6.com/family/5330085/detail.html

oh, and I have never been spanked as punishment.

I think you've mixed it up your pyschology there.

Taking away rewards/positive things is negative punishment, where as negative reinforcement refers to taking away something bad when they do the desired behaviour.

OP: I don't believe in spanking kids as punishment, I think it's just selfish of the parents, you get some peace and quite by silencing the kid in exchange for an increased likelihood of psychology damage and them commiting child abuse later on. Plus, it shows them what bad behaviour is, but you should be instead reinforcing good behaviour because it tells them that being "good" has it's benefits, as opposed to be being bad which only has bad consequences if you get caught.