[Brigliadore]

I am all for a swat on the bum. Sometimes you need to prove to a kid that you are the boss, and saying "I'm the boss" doesn't always cut it. I was spanked as a child, sometimes hard (if my dad was doing it) and sometimes not (mom). They always counted to 5 and if they got there then that was the result. Most the time I did as I was told by the time they got to 4. I can see no lasting damage done to me. I have a very distinct memory of being 4 and my mom patting me on the hand saying "this is a pat, now this is a spank" They were the same but man did I cry after the "spanking".

My older sister refuses to spank her children. Most the time her 4 year old daughter tells her no when asked to do something and since the law is never laid down, so to speak, that kid just runs right over both her parents. Her other child is only 16 months old so not yet old enough to tell her no. Seeing how her kids are, I would rather be a little too harsh on occasion then not harsh enough. I couldn't imagine having a kid that thought they could tell me what to do.

Skunks, your story reminds me of my Uncle, he never spanks his kids but reasons them to death. There have been times when he is telling them why they need to listen to him or why what they did was wrong, and I am thinking "oh heck, just spank them and get it over with, because this reasoning with them is a cruel and unusual punishment". You can see their eyes gloss over sometimes.