I'm really anti-smacking as an educational tool, but I don't think it should be criminalised. It can be a last resort on rare occasions.
Children are not individuals that can take anything and forget about it. If a parent chooses to smack a kid, and I'm not even talking about actually hurting it, he/she should realise what an impact it has on a kid. Children don't forgive and forget.
That's where there should be boundaries. Smacking kids around shouldn't be a regular punishment (like it was in my home when I was a kid). If a kid is outright arrogant and totally out of control, ignoring and neglecting every house rule and behaves totally inapropriate and doesn't realise the consequences of its behaviour, a smack cán have a good effect. It makes the kid realise "woh, I really did something that is NOT tolerated around here". But if you're going to smack your kids for every little thing they do wrong, that's just giving the wrong example. If I was fighting with my brothers when I was young, my parents would break up the "fight", tell us we were doing something wrong, and then smack us around. That is just plain hypocrisy and it has made me so that I don't respect my parents nearly as much as I (probably) should.
Also, as mentioned earlier, it's not the "hurting" part that can have serious effects on their minds, but the simple act of violence as a response to something that is out of order. Like I said, smacking a young kid when it has purposely done something really bad that hurts you as a parent can be a sad but effective means TO MAKE A POINT ON RARE OCCASIONS, MAYBE. But you should never make a habit out of it.
My parents never bruised me or anything, and if they have it would have been an accident, but the smacking around (and my dad's general violent attitude) and that threatening raised hand has had an effect on me, without any doubt. My dad's violent attitude is a feature of him I can't forgive him for and one of the reasons why I hate him.
As a conclusion:
The nature of a kid's home is incredibly influential on the way he manages to survive in society. You shouldn't teach your kids that violence is a normal way of punishing someone for his wrongdoings. Don't underestimate the bad effects of the "simple" act of smacking a young, highly influential individual. Try to keep in mind that the parents are the biggest influence in a young kid's life. Don't waste that opportunity, they grow up fast.
So yeah, not a fan...
Bookmarks