[Sr. Mints]

I think I need a few decades of therapy to help me through all my childhood issues, but today, even the thought of hitting a child bothers me. When I see a parent yelling or getting mad at their kid in public--even if s/he's being a total ####--I get uneasy, and it upsets me for for some time after.

I don't have kids--I have dogs?--and I get the same feeling around them: I was very forgiving when they were puppies in their 'destroy, destroy, destroy everything' phase, have never so much as raised a hand to them, but I have yelled at them on occasion, and I don't like to do that, even.

The whole point of a spanking, I believe, is to shock the child, to get their attention--not to hurt or punish them. But I don't think it is really necessary; I'd like to think we know better now.