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I was listening to one of the Parent Teacher Association meetings we have regularly at my son's school when our normal chit chat and conversations about the weather were ended abruptly by a question from Mrs. Stallworth.

'Is it right to discipline kids with spanking and other forms of corporal punishment?' asked the usually meek Mrs. Stallworth. The question caused immediate silence in the room as the normally loquacious parents and teachers seemed stunned by the frankness of the question. I'm sure no one wanted to imagine the thought of considering whether or not it is right to spank their kids. It was surprising, no doubt about that. But after we recovered from our initial shock, we realized that the question was relevant.

It seems that Mrs. Stallworth's son Billy was caught stealing some coins from his mother's purse. Mr. Stallworth, a man who exuded moral integrity and discipline, apparently had taken out his belt and hit Billy on the hand. Mrs. Stallworth stressed that it wasn't anything severely painful but it was nonetheless a jarring experience for Billy since it was the first time he had ever been spanked.

In an effort to make sense of it all, Mrs. Stallworth had done some research on the topic. Now, she wanted to share what she had learned with the rest of us and in exchange, she wanted us to tell her how we felt.

It turns out that there are many countries that legally ban and condemn the practice of corporal punishment for children such as Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Cyprus, Denmark, Latvia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Germany, Israel, Iceland, Romania, Ukraine and Hungary.

The reverse is true in Asia where people not only tolerate the practice of corporal punishment but even endorse it. Many Asian countries carry the tradition and belief that a fair amount of punishment will make their children better people.

For instance, in places like China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, it is legal to punish one's own child using physical means. However, China and Taiwan prohibit their schools from using corporal punishment against children.