re: So you are not allowed to whip your kids now?

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That was me with my child. I tried time out & loss of privileges, the 2 most effective disciplining methods in our house at that time. He needed to learn not to run into the street and he needed to learn quickly. He thought it was funny to test me and he chose the street as one testing ground. The 3rd time, he nearly got hit and caused a minor accident. Yes, I spanked him. I didn't have time to try additional parenting methods on top of what we'd already tried. The next time he could have died.

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But these circumstances are quite different than most instances that people punish their kids. The natural consequences were obviously too severe, and your punishment was probably immediate (which is important). Most situations are not similar to that. I just find that people are quick to punish undesirable behavior, when it would be far more effective to teach, model, and reinforce desirable replacement behaviors. Not to mention, it is not uncommon that what was meant to be punishment is actually a reinforcer for the undesirable behavior.