Personally, I believe that a 'smack' is an acceptable form of punishment. However, I do not accept that a child should be used as a parent's punching bag or excessive force be taken. To say that a criminal has taken the path that they have taken because they "delicate little flowers" who got a smack is ridiculous. In most cases, violence related criminal behaviour isn't the result of a petty smack but from excessive abuse. There is a difference.
Punishment is a way of making a child conform to the rules and expectations set. I go to a school that ends up getting many rejects from the region, children who are often expelled or asked to leave by other schools. This does not help in the education process when you have students who do not want to learn, and are extremely disruptive. I believe that due to a few morally righteous people who hold grudges against their parents because 'I got smacked and my friend Johnnie didn't' (the same people who hate their parents for destroying their lives by creating a fictional Santa and causing psychological damage when told he does not exist), children have lost an ability to understand where the boundaries are set. Often these misfit children are the result of parents who do not care, who are at the pub while their kid is running rampant in the streets, causing criminal damage because at the age of 8,9,10,11,12, they KNOW their "rights". They know they can't be punished - because they "do not" have the mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong. What is worse? A parent who smacks their kid to get them to abide by the rules set, or a parent who lets their child loose.
And btw, the cane was not the only way to punish kids at school. Here are a few of my favourites.
>The piece of chalk or duster thrown at you
>The massive textbook thrown at you
>(and my personal favourite) The game of footy organised by the teacher when he is particularly annoyed with some students. The teacher puts the kids he doesnt like on one team and himself on the other, ensuring that the 'misfits' never ever want to play footy on the opposite team again
And these stories come from teachers still in the system.
Let's face it, punishment with children exists to stop them from taking the wrong path. Excessively, its bad, but in moderation and with other punishments it should not be a problem. Give them a warning, often the threat is bad enough, if they've felt the sting of a hand across their bum.