Oddly enough, now that I think about it I don’t know how to spank a child. I mean, that sounds stupid because it would seem elementary, but is it just one big flat smack on the rear, is it five, is it with a paddle or your hand. I need a “Spanking For Dummies” book. And please, no puns.
My dad had a board with a set of holes drilled in it....One whack was usually enough.
Don’t ever have kids you are too stupid!
Sorry for the posts of others...with all the crap of the previous generations, it doesn’t surprise me that people would know that spanking is good, but the technique may not be understood.
Here’s my answer: It depends on age...when my brats were young, say 2 to 4, then just a light whack on the but was fine - you know you’ve done it right if they cry. As they get older, towards 8, you hit harder, but they’ll still cry without much of a whack. From 8 to 12, you have build up some momentum, but you can still get a few tears out. Starting at age 13 or so, you practically have to injure them to get them to cry (i.e., not worth it)...but then you can start to discipline other ways - like taking away their computer games, cell phones, IPODs, etc. In most cases, if you spanked the kid all along, things get easy in the teen years anyway.
Finally, some other rules:
1) As someone else posted, be absolutely SURE that they understand why they were whacked (yes, even a 2-year old knows not to throw food, for example).
2) Train your kids to deny EVER receiving physical punishment to others, like teachers in particular. It depends on the other adult and the state laws, but you can NEVER go wrong by having the kid simply deny EVERYTHING. And, as the kids get old enough, explain to them the importance of keeping mum, even when threatened with not seeing their mommy again. There are simply way TOO MANY liberals that look at disciple as battering the kid, as the comments to the article show...you don’t need to invite them into your life.