Should parents be allowed to reprimand their children via spanking/smacking?   stance: yes.:
Yes, I do believe so. Within in reason, of course. In the earlier stages of life, physical consequence is more receptive to children than verbal scolding. I do not believe that you can label a bad parent if they occasionally hit their children. This method of discipline has been apart of parental doctrine since the beginning of man. It is both effective and, if administered properly, harmless to the child. The argument that the societal acceptance of child spanking condones or escalates child abuse is unsubstantiated. Most cases of child abuse are fueled by unrelated issues involving the parent (ie: alcoholism), not the failure of the parent to exact the correct degree of spankage. Vilifying the proper use of child-spanking condemns good parenting.