"A bit of a smack or a shove may not do much damage and may be acceptable in some cases but a beating is not on, whether its your child or your spouse".
eagle,
Exactly the point I tried to make. There is a B I G difference in a smack and a BASH. Most parents do know the difference as do most who break in horses. I use the words "break in" for horses and not "train". The training comes after the breaking in. When I "break in" a horse it takes about 5 minutes it takes another 6 months to train them.
We wouldn't play a game of any team sport without the team having a captain. The same principle applies in the home. It needs a captain, the head of the house, to set rules that should be obeyed. It needs team players to be successful, it needs the respect of the team and the captain must respect the team. Those not playing their part must be disclipined. If they are old enough then reasoned discussion may be all that is needed, if not there has to be another way.
