The candor with which you wrote was personally very refreshing to me.

At one point in your story I found that tears were forming in my eyes as I recalled my own childhood and the lessons I personally learned as my wife and I struggled to raise five moral human beings.  

I think, partly, my tears started flowing because of the honesty with which you approached this article.  You just laid all this out in the sun for the community (a lot of them, voluntaryist who are completely *against* spanking in any form) to inspect and had that "let the chips fall where they may" mindset.  Much respect!  btw, I'm your new follower.  

Your article made me come to terms with my own failure to just be who I am on Steemit (in the area of child rearing).  I've been silent in my position of parenting for fear of reprisal from a, largely, anarchist community.   I too spanked (or what anarchists call "initiate force" upon another individual (my kids) who did not physically harm or threaten to harm me).  But I was ALWAYS in control...always instructive....always compassionate to their weaknesses and frailties as human beings and, more importantly, always loving.  I never grounded any of my kids.  Once the spanking was over, they KNEW their consciences were ABSOLUTELY CLEAR.  No one was ever mad or left to wonder if there was more.  The wrong was clearly explained (even as very young kids, they started to understand.  My voice was always kind...I NEVER yelled at them, cause I remember the voice of my dad and how it would just get on my nerves as he just talked and talked in his anger.

But my motive in spanking, as I see was yours was as well, was to instill a DEEP respect and honor for all things RIGHT and good!  A LOT of people would see inflicting pain on someone as counter intuitive, and, I guess it kinda is.  They see it as "teaching a person to hit by example."  But I can tell you that my children, now grown (the oldest is 21), are some of the most polite, respectful, fun, socially adjusted, liberty-loving, peaceful people you'd ever wanna meet.

From the first day that I held my firstborn's little bitty hand in mine, I vowed that I would NEVER ever treat this child like my dad and mom treated me (with uncontrolled punishments that could have really physically damaged me and my brothers and left us with no sense of "we really deserved that."  I would always be fair, and they would never have to guess what right and wrong were.  I would be their trusted guide and their most loyal friend.  

Your article was very very good @merej99!  It cut straight to my heart!  Thank you!