Imagine there are giant creatures(like 5-6 meter tall) and they are proportionally stronger than you. They follow you everywhere and(though they wash and feed you) they also sometimes hit you with their huge palms?
I have quite a good memory of my childhood and my complaints about it are not over the occasional smack I received, but of the arbitrary and inconsistent nature of the punishment I received. Like the powerless everywhere, children are strong advocates of justice and rules and they absolutely hate inconsistent and arbitrary displays of power.