Ren Allen

Interestingly enough, I was browsing through a copy of "Raising a
Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor" that I picked up recently and
thoroughly enjoyed what Dr. Mendelsohn had to say about spanking and
parental roles. His chapter on "What to expect of your child" says:

"Children must, of course, be guided toward responsible adult
behavior, but parents shouldn't expect them to achieve it all at
once. Nor is there any convincing evidence that it can be
effectively achieved by emplying the old maxim "spare the rod and
spoil the child." Corporal punishment at any age confuses and
traumatizes the child, because he can't understand why the mother and
father he loves, and who are supposed to love him, are suddenly
raging at him and causing physical pain. He is made to feel
insecure, resentful, and even worthless, and the consequence may be
psychological harm.
The impact of physical punishment on child deveolpment has been
studied extensively, and the consensus of this research is that
violence damages both parent and child. It fails to teach children
WHAT TO DO and yields only temporary benefits, if that, in teaching
them WHAT NOT TO DO."

Wise words imo.

Ren