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My two siblings and I were raised by wonderful, intelligent, smart and loving parents...who had been raised by their parents to use corporal punishment. To this day, the sight of a wooden spoon, a breadboard, or a belt provides me with a quick trip down memory lane of running, in abject terror, away from my mother or father to avoid a spanking for wrongdoing.
To this day, my parents have repeatedly apologized about it, and have told us all, "If we had to do it over again, we'd never hit you."
Overall, I'd say my two siblings and I are very well adjusted, with one serious caveat: when I get angry with someone, I hit; playfully, seriously, either way, it's still hitting. This has been an issue with both my husband and close friends, and I have worked on it in therapy.
But the issue remains: I have been taught that hitting, causing physical pain, etc., is a good way to teach someone what not to do.
Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, whatever....physical violence begets physical violence. It's not an effective teaching method, period.
