No matter what the punishment, each can only go so far. You send the child to his room and he plays with his toys, time out and he twiddles his thumbs and will most likely do it again, ground him from one thing he'll find a way to do it anyway or replace the activity with another. Beat him and once the pain goes away he'll do it again and try harder not to get caught or he'll do something else that's just as bad if not worse. There really isn't an effective way to truly punish a child without him doing it again, something worse, or actually learning not to do it again. I think there is a difference between beatings and spankings. To me, a beating involves an object. A spanking, is open palm and enough to sting but not leave bruises.

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"BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Will he offer me his mouth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his teeth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his jaws? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Again, will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes! GIRL: Yes. BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Yes. BOY: I bet you say that to all the boys!" -Meatloaf