When applied judiciously from an early age it has a remarkable ability to produce good citizens when parents fail at home.
My mom had a paddle board. When it did not have the intended disciplinary effect, she asked my dad to put big holes in it so that the paddle would move faster due to less air resistance. Sadly, her physics conjecture was right. The paddle was faster and hurt more.
But in the end, the paddle broke on my brother’s behind, perhaps because of the holes. Or perhaps because he had a really good lickin’ comin’.