[gnaritas]

That is bad reasoning. Lots of things that you shouldn't do are effective, that doesn't make them any less wrong. That something works does not make it ok. The ends do not justify the means. It is no less wrong to hit your kid than to hit your spouse.

[randallsquared]

That something works does not make it ok. The ends do not justify the means.

Depends on whether you're consequentialist or deontologicalist, I guess. For a consequentialist, nothing can make something okay other than that it works, and ends are the only thing that can justify any means. :)

[larrys]

"It is no less wrong to hit your kid than to hit your spouse."

Presumably a spouse has more intelligence, maturity, and common sense than a child and is a peer (equal) that you can speak to and don't have to resort to "spanking" or much worse.

[gnaritas]

A person who can't outsmart a child has no business raising one. Words work just as effectively on children when applied consistently.