I got corporal punishment as a kid, and, uhhhh...it didn't do a damn bit of good for me. In fact, its probably one of the reasons its so difficult to talk to my parents and so obscenely hard to trust fucking anyone. If your parents hit you under the guise of "teaching you a lesson," then why the hell would anyone else NOT do that? From a child's mind, at least, it makes sense, considering your parents are usually supposed to be the ones you trust the most.
That said, giving a slap on the wrist, be it literal or metaphorical, is usually enough to get most kids in line when they're being asses. Unlike what a lot of our society likes to tell us, kids by and large, aren't completely blank slates with no capability for logical, coherent thought and reason. The times my parents explained shit to me were hundreds of times more effective than when they tried to speak to me with a fucking belt...or cutting board, which incidentally, broke in half the first and only time it was used to spank me.
Some kids, I'm sure, are naturally predisposed to being shitstains, but if you'd bother to actually try and TALK to your kids...ya know, like its the 21st god damned century, many times, they'll understand. This Stone Age "spare the rod, spoil the child" bullshit is as offensive as it is, many times, needless and barbaric. Go ahead, don't spare the rod. Be like this asshole and beat your kids with cables. But don't you dare fucking come crying to me when your kids try to smother you to death in your sleep or poison your coffee. Violence begets violence, motherfuckers.
