I'll just put it out there right up front: I am opposed to spanking. The reasons are many and varied and I won't bore you with all of them; the bottom line is it's not right for my family, and I even get all Judgy McJudgerson (silently, usually) when I see other parents making the choice to discipline children via physical force. I've never had any problem justifying my choice, either. Nor did I ever trot out "because it could warp them sexually later in life" as a reason why it might be better to find a different method of correction.

Before you start yelling at me, please note that I did not make the statement about children requiring a measured smack. The quote comes from a Boston Herald story about proposed legislation in Massachusetts to ban corporal punishment, including the culturally-accepted parents' right to physically discipline their own children. Evelyn Reilly, director of public policy for the Massachusetts Family Institute, urged committee members to do nothing, saying “many” kids “require a measured smack on the behind.”