My dad used to spank us a lot when we were kids. He made a paddle out of wood that was an inch thick. He used to keep in on top of the refrigerator with the handle sticking out so we could always see it. My brother got beat more times than I did because he could never seem to stay out of trouble no matter how hard he tried. My dad used to hit our dog with the same paddle when he would dig holes in our yard. Never once as a child did I think it was animal abuse. I thought beating animals when they did something wrong was the norm for most people, although when my dad used to spank our dog I would cover my ears so I wouldn't hear him squeal. I always felt so bad for him. When I got older and had my own kids I vowed that I would never spank them. Now I admit that when difficult child was out of control in her younger years and I had tried everything else like time outs, etc, and they didn't work, I swatted her a couple of times with my bare hand. It never did any good. Spanking just made her more violent. So I stopped doing it. Their dad would spank them which I didn't agree with, but he did it anyway, insisting they needed a good source of discipline. Now that they are older, of course, he doesn't spank them any longer. I personally think there are better ways to discipline a child, but I don't look down on anyone who chooses to swat their child every now and again.