re: Why are people acting like Adrian Peterson was punching his son in the face?

About five years ago I had an epiphany about the role the need to control your environment has on most people. The best parents relinquish control wisely a bit at a time. Especially physical domination.

If you can't raise well-adjusted solid kids without beating them with inanimate objects, you are doing it wrong. Most kids, if raised properly, with respect and affection, will seek to please you and will learn from a well-placed word that serves as a dose of reality, or the loss of privileges . I would no more hit my kids then hit my wife. (I'm excluding those baby swats on the bum when they are little).

You will never convince me that this is how you get the results you are looking for- through violence, even if it is "controlled". Affection and respect never fail. My Dad respected me and I respect my kids. Kids get respect and feel like part of an invaluable family unit and they respond with respect. My kids (15,13,10) have never given me a single bad day. Not one. They know what I expect and they step up. They get their strength from within the family and know this is their safe place-not a place that creates anxiety. There is a better way to teach than by hitting. If that's the best you have as a parent, then I feel bad for where you stand as a human being.