[manasecret]

I find waving the gun around does the trick.

But seriously, I believe in the Dog Whisperer's philosophy about dogs. You have to be a pack leader exuding calm, assertive energy, and dogs pick up on that attitude and fall in line.

Kids at a young age work the same way -- they run on instinct and what they subconsciously glean from your actions . If you have to beat your kid, then you've already lost the argument. You're out of ideas to make them stop, and so you take the lazy, seemingly easy way out. Seemingly easy because I think in the long run it just makes things worse and doesn't accomplish what you want.

Of course, just as with dogs, there are going to be the violent/super-misbehaving ones that this simply won't work with. But they're the outliers. And even with them, I don't think beating them is the solution. Professional help with the kid is the answer.

A psychological spank is far more effective than a physical spank.