Reply #31: My two children, now 24 and 14,

[mcar]

were never spanked. Punished, yes. Given appropriate consequences for misbehavior, yes. Spanked, never. How do you explain to a small child that it's OK for me, a large person, to hit him, but it's not OK for him to hit his friend? Hmmm. Ridiculous? I think not.

Example: My 14 YO, when he was 2, was an escape artist. Used to run out of the house and run laughing down the street all the time. Do you think spanking him would have solved the problem? I don't.

I changed the deadbolts on the house to keylocks on both sides so he couldn't turn it open. Solved the problem. No more escape artist.

Spanking teaches kids that hitting is OK.