It’s not about “beating”. It’s about not being afraid to apply physical discipline (NOT “abuse”). I knew my parents weren’t afraid of using it. But in fact, only 1 time do I remember them spanking me. The only other times I was physically smacked sometimes - because they tell me - were when I was younger than 5, when none of us really remember anything. And it’s not just physical. Today we’ve gotten so bad we can’t even look at the dog wrong, and it’s “animal abuse”. Using voice and visual is part of the discipline, all of which is being swept away as “abusive”.
As for difficult kids - yes, some do have excessive problems that are probably innate and no discipline really changes. My nephew is 1. Wonderful, kind, thoughtful kid all his life - young and now at 20 - and smart too. But just didn’t want to do anything at or for school. He was extremely difficult; even subjects he clearly picked up on our vacation trips with him he acted like he didn’t know in school. He ended up on Ritalin. Still difficult in school, but also a go-getter self-starter for making money; imagine that. He’s still a good kid, but definitely had problems with school.
You and I may agree somewhat then. My focus was not on “beating”. I’m certainly not opposed to physical discipline when it’s needed, and I’m not afraid to spank my children when they need it. My problem with a lot of posters is their belief that in the case of a child that truly has ADD or ADHD that if only the parents spanked, the attention problems would go away. It just isn’t so. One has nothing to do with the other.