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There is nothing in the Bible that says God would have you beat your child.

There is, and you have missed it. You need to read Proverbs through from a version that is in the literal equivalent mode. (Prov. 10:13, 13:24,22:15,23:13,14) The verse that stands out is "Thou shalt beat him with a rod, and shall deliver him from hell." Your children's effective salvation was involved with this system.

You totally ignored the usage of rod within the context of the twenty-third Psalm.

I did not. I have many times been chastened by The LORD in ways you probably have not yet contemplated, but I am comforted that it is He that chastens me for my profit, that I might be a partaker of his holiness.

You may not pick and choose single instances one must build scripture upon scripture.

I did not, and gave the reasons why, including related passages. Why don't you calm down and read them, as well as other comments I made on this article?

Interestingly enough I raised my children very successfully by teaching them in a consistent and Christian manner and never once did I have to beat them with a rod.

You never resorted to any corporal punishment whatsoever? Either they were sinless or somebody else had to do it for you, maybe. If you never chastened them, you missed out on your main chore as a parent. If you never used the rod, you ignored God's clear non-debatable instruction. If you ever used hand spanking or slapping them you used an instrument that is never mentioned in the Bible for child correction. It was used by servants of the high priest to shame The Christ and the Apostle Paul.

You can beat your children if you so choose.

Depends on what you think "beating" means. If you're assuming that means thrashing them to within an inch of their lives, or for no reason at all, you are greatly misunderstanding the process. If you understand that the boundaries have been established, and they know that they have disobeyed and know consequences, they will also know that they will suffer real felt pain that they have earned and brought it upon themselves. You are only the administrator, not the causer. For the guilty but contrite, a token application suffices. But if guilty and still rebellious, the child's will to resist must be dealt with.

In the end we will both find who is correct.

I already know who is correct. One of my children who disobeyed my counsel died on US95 in his Escort under the wheels of a Greyhound bus, intoxicated. I put his body in the ground on his 27th birthday. His two brothers served as employees of a well-known international Christian missionary effort for 5 years each. One is now a Director of Information Services for a large Japanese corporation, has been for years. His brother gave the graduation speech for his engineering class of an outstanding technical university, was invited to return for a Masters, and finally earned his Professional Engineering license. After several years, he founded his own company, and later ran for Senator for his state. My daughter put herself through college, was married with four children; widowed at 42, but remarried later. At the same time she held professional positions and is now a vice president of a large national banking concern. All are sincere believing and practicing members of their local churches. I know what the outcome of their child-raising methods were, and the Proverbs 13:24 method wins hands down. Dr. Spock's methods? time-outs? -- not so well.

Hope it is as good for you. May The LORD's Word illuminate your way.

I'm done with this.