For once a shrink got it right. You can't lecture a two year old, just a couple of quick swats on the butt will get his attention though. There are plenty of other ways o punish a ten year old. What in THE HELL is going on in Europe? When did the whole continent seemingly get turned into pansies?
FQ13
Think younger then that.... we started doing little spanks on the hand with our kids at around 1 year old (When they started crawling)... for the simple reason that its really the only way to teach them the meaning of the word "NO" and successfully establish boundaries. You can't explain to a one year old the importance of not touching something because it might break or they might get hurt, but they very quickly learn the concept that they will get a spanking if they still do something after being told "NO".
As they have gotten older, spanking has been best used as an empty threat more then when used for punishment. When you are out in public and they are showing out, there is no better way to get them back in line then to tell them they are about to get a spanking.
All kids are different, and some will respond best to other forms of punishment but those people who blindly rule out spanking as a structured form of punishment are delusional at best.