3.
I sorta disagree with MYB and his no violence thing, it's when parents actually abuse their children it changes them, I have big boughts (sp?) of depression and hate both my parents. To trhis day my dad still threatens me quite a lot and even though I really want to stand up to him sometime it's not going to happen, I'm so scared of being the defenseless 3yr old I was hiding under my bed sheets trying to get away while he carries on hitting me. Instead when he threatens me I cry and cover my face and run to another part of the house. So don't say that smacking doesn't affect children, I used to be quite an extravert and I've gotten shyer and shyer and more depressed oevr the years and I blame my parents. Surprisingly I resent my mum for letting it happen, which is totally illogical but that's how my brain works. I remember once, was the first time my dad hit my mum, which wasa provoked attack but anyway - He hit her and she kinda went across the room and I ran in and immediately stopped it, getting smacked in the process. But atleast I stopped it happening again and I hate it how my mum never did that for me, ever. I was about 3years old and it made me think no one gave a stuff, I don't trust people anymore and I won't let anyone get close.
Sometimes a good smack wouldn't hurt a child, it would teach them not to do things again and againa, but when they abuse you for no reason or for tiny things, that's when it's wrong. MYB, you said that you'd learn from being sat down and talked to, but sadly most children wouldn't learn sod all from this seeing as they have no respect for their elders and would nod and say yes hten go and do exactly what they've been told not to.
Sorry if this didn't make sense, I've never talked about this to anyone properly so it probably didn't make sense.