Not too sure where I stand on this...having pretty much brought up one of gavs sons who literally did not listen to anything or no punishment seemed to work.
We tried everything we could think of, from letting him explain his views/feelings completely then attempting to sort out whatever his problem was(softly softly approach...), to taking away his toys for set amounts of time, to grounding him, to early bedtimes, to firm verbal retribution...nothing worked. Eventually our
GP suggested a smack every now and again, not enough to hurt properly, but enough to shock.
There was never a problem with his brother and sister. A firm voice was always enough. They have never been smacked. But he had to be. It was the only thing that ever made him listen
Those who are against smacking in all situations...what should have been done with him? Allow him to continue doing what he wants all the time?