I often feel I should stay out of spanking discussions because of my unconventional views on the subject, but since some people have already expressed their views here, I think I can too. I think I represent the "other" side.
I am 100% against hitting a child under any circumstance. Period.
My son has never, ever been hit, spanked, slapped, smacked whatever (except playful smacks -- I'm talking about hitting as a form of discipline or expressing disapproval). Our reasoning was, when you spank a child, you teach them that it's ok to hit people when they do things that displease you. So, we made a vow when we married that if we ever had kids, we would use alternative methods of teaching discipline.
He is now a mature, healthy, good-natured teenager. He never went through the 2- and 3-year-old hitting phase so many kids do, and I think it's because he never learned to use hitting as a form of expression.
We did lots of time out, removal and talk. Lots of talk. We still do the talk discipline (sometimes it drives him crazy!
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Both my husband and I were spanked (but not abused by any means) as kids and we just felt that wasn't the way we wanted to raise our child. We wanted to try something different. I think we were successful -- our kid is proof.
It really hurts me to see children hit, even if it is just a "light smack on the bottom or hand".