Ah little Miss No-kids yet.
Story from my childhood. School Bully was bigger than most and delighted in throwing his weight around. Left school went into pub and pushed another patron who took offence. School Bully was happy to sort this little altercation outside. SB was then given a flogging. I still savour the thought of him being given that life lesson.
No one believes flogging children is anything but bad. However parents now allow us to be subjected to screaming temper tantrums in every shopping centre in Australia. If you are not in control as the parent then we have anarchy and that is hopeless for the kids too. A quick rap or slap soon shows the little darlings how life is really. I suppose you want a Universal Human Right to cable TV, personal IPad and broadband too? Enjoy paying off your HECS debt and find out where your tax dollars go.

I think society goes from one extreme to the other on so many left issues and never quite gets it right.
This is yet another example.

I support parents right to smack or disciple their kids but I wouldn't advocate it as the standard go-to punishment.

Firstly I support the idea of making your child do push-ups as a first tier of punishment.
"Drop and give me 10 push-ups"

There's two reasons for this.
The first is that it gives the parent time to calm down a little bit and decide on a fairer punishment while they (the parent) may be in a state of anger at the childs behaviour.

The second is that they can then calmly think of a much better punishment (while the child is doing push-ups) for what the child did wrong.

Which brings in all of the second-tier type punishments.
Restricting internet use; taking away tablets or game consoles; not going somewhere they wanted; time outs; no pocket-money; losing privileges etc.

Finally if a kid really pushes their luck too far they need to know there's a line to the type of behavior which won't be tolerated.
If all the other punishments have been done and the child has been warned, and taught to know better and still wants to push their luck too far then I think a parent does have a right to smack their child.

In nature animals do it.
Animals will sternly nip or bunt their offspring to correct their behavior.
I don't think parents should have their hands completely tied when it comes to disciplining kids, and I think there's also a case that not smacking some kids enough and letting them get away with bad behavior may produce just as many dysfunctional adults in society.

Dear old dear. Angelika I suggest you look at the violence we now have in schools since parents became to decieved or cowardly to smack their children. To suggest smacking children is violence is idiotic at the best and deceitful at the worst. The no smacking brigade by and large have produced a self centred, self righteous brigade who are more violent than any other generation here in Australia. Look at the getup/green/socialist mob who spit in peoples faces, refuse to allow views contrary to their own and are a disgrace to our nation. Many of them are uni students who have dumbed down views like you Angelika. Smacking worked tremendously well in my family and usually hurts the discipliner more than the child receiving what they need not to become the spoilt brats many have made today. Talk to a few teachers in school and take off your blinkers.

Children learn what they live and if timeout achieves the same outcome why would anything more be required, unless our kids are substitutes for punching bags and are an all too easy target to vent our frustrations on?

Look willful Kids can drive a parent around the bend, particularly when there's also financial and emotional stress? Which is when you need to send the offenders to their room while you take a walk, to walk off your understandable frustrations.

Life has a way of hurrying by and all too soon the kids have grown up and away. And the precious time we get to spend with them is just too quickly over and gone; to spoil it with stuff that comes back to bite when you're old and alone?

I believe we can all learn from our parents on child raising?

Even so, when the cogent evidence presents a better way, nothing is gained by looking at it subjectively and with a foregone conclusion! Look at the evidence and if you're wrong, be big enough to accept the incontrovertible evidence and apply a different paradigm!

Simply put, there isn't a problem too big to be solved by the application of enough love, even where at times that has to be tough love and saying what you mean and meaning what you say from the get go! Which more often than not needs to be no! Not maybe or perhaps, which is best reserved for the spouse and applied stringently to avoid unpleasant outcomes?
Alan B.

Oh Dear another misguided person. As JBowyer said the spoiled brats being inflicted on the rest of us by people like the author is beyond the pale.

Democracy is violence...how much violence do you want banned ?