From a daughter's and now mother's point of view, there wouldn't be an exact way to raise children. Different persons react differently to same stimulus, which cause scientists haven't determined quite yet; it would just take asking a parent with more than one child, to see this reality. In my case, being spanked just turned me more enraged and sometimes (many other times) rebellious; my sister, on the other hand, used to react much calmer than I did -which might just been a negative outcome too-. My almost two-year-old son bursts when having tantrums, so I'd prefered to monitor and wait for him to calm down, but when he has insisted on challenging me while doing something I have clearly pointed out he shouldn't (which I make sure he sees), I've softly given him a little spank, and he just leaves it. So, is it black, white, or a whole spectrum in between? I think we should just ask around :)