Such an honest and detailed post! What I liked about it the most was that you were extremely genuine and spoke with extreme honesty which is quite rare these days. I completely agree with the 'one size does not fit all' approach. We are all different and so are our kids so what works for one may not work for another. While I am in no favor at all of spanking or hitting kids and I hardly ever slap my son, I do feel it is at times necessary. However, a slight slap-more like a firm pat on the back is my lender of last resort when I know my son needs me to be a little firm with him but the last time that happened was about 10 months back. Every kids responds differently to different disciplinary measures so it is good to experiment with new things and see what works with your kid. However, that does not man you should start spanking your kid all the time. This is not what you said and not what I am implying at all. Also, I agree with you when you say that when you forbid someone to do something, they become more drawn towards it so my strategy with my son is to educate him about things, warn him off the implications and then let him make his own decision which mostly is the right one in my opinion too. :)