Excerpt from Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen
Jane’s response:

I ask this parent if she would be willing to let her toddler play near a busy street unsupervised after he has been spanked to ‘teach’ him to stay out of the street..
Parent: “Of course not.”
I then ask how many times she would need to spank before she would feel it safe to let her child play unsupervised near a busy street.
Most parents agree that they would not let their toddler play near a busy street unsupervised until around the ages of 6 to 8, no matter how many spankings they have had to ‘teach’ them.
This illustrates the fact that maturity, or readiness to learn certain responsibilities is the key- not spankings.
Learn more about how Positive Discipline can support our children as they grow and mature.