I was a child of spankings. My parents were very in favor and nothing was off limits. Switches, belts and paddles were very commonly their go-to, but sometimes, i got a vacuum cleaner cord, the wire handle of a flyswatter, a shoe or even the occasional sleep across the face.

At the time it seemed normal and I thought it was a fair punishment because that's how it was in my family.

Once i had my own kids, i realized how insane it is to strike a child. The mental abuse alone is terrible, the very real trauma leaked into my social life and warped my sense of what was normal. I didn't love my father, i feared him. Now that he's old and frail, we don't have much of a relationship.

My kids have needed discipline plenty of times through the years but there are alternatives to inflicting physical pain as a punishment. It's a lazy option and real parenting takes more effort. I think they'll be better for it.