Swat on the bottom to get the kid’s attention at any age, even gently under two if the child is about to do something like run in the street or bite an electrical cord or bite another child. It punctuates the “no.” Having said that, Mr. Mercat and I bought and read a book on spanking before we actually used it in any sort of premeditated way. It wasn’t especially effective. I was spanked one time and I deserved it. My mother was the one who had to do it and she cried the whole time. It didn’t hurt. It was more the humiliation. I had tried to make my older brother fall the day he returned from being in the hospital for a week with a compound fracture. LOL. I need to apologize to him again some day.
Thing is using any thing other than your hand is amplifying the hitting power of the adult; secondly the size of an adult hand is so much larger than the butt of a child. The force could do internal damage (has been documented)plus the welt on the child’s bottom often leads to some serious bruising. Most times it’s about frustration on the part of the parent when the child keeps acting out as in public. Only time I ever got smacked was when I disrespected my dad once, just once.. And nope, I’m not a mom ....
I agree. Children under two don't always listen to explanations. They will run right into traffic. So, sometimes a stern expression and a quick swat on the diaper followed with "NO!" is necessary to keep a child from running into the street or running away at the store. Otherwise, I never believed in spanking.
OTOH, there are parents who won't lay a finger on their children. They just let their kids bully other kids, backtalk other parents, etc. You know, sometimes it's necessary to pull one's child off another child, or get in the middle of a fight to break it up, or take one's child by the arm and yell to make him stop doing something bad, or forcibly make him go to the corner when he's done something wrong, etc. But, some parents won't touch their kids at all.