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I'm a little confused by "unconditional love though." That's something only a dog can give. If you give unconditional love to your child, you're not teaching him anything. You become the dog, and your child becomes the master. It's unrealistic to expect to give or receive unconditional love from another human being because there will always be consequences to certain conditions.

I prefer to call it "never-ending love." There were times when I was furious with my son and had to punish him - but he always knew how much I loved him. He knows my love for him will never die.

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Dogs do love unconditionally. But a lot of parents, especially those who grew up in dysfunctional families, don't understand what unconditional love is and is not. Unconditional love doesn't mean that there aren't consequences. It means that even though you have to correct your child and teach him or her how to behave, you don't stop loving them when they make mistakes. You love them enough that they know you still love them, no matter what they do. And you love them enough to correct and teach them, and not to feel like you have to buy their love or be their buddy and never show disapproval.

Punishment is only one way to correct though. And physical punishment isn't the only way either. Sometimes it is all that we learned, but, yes, we can break the cycle and learn other ways to discipline. Many people do break the cycle. There is just more to it than not hitting. We have to learn a whole new way to relate to people, and it is hard work because the tendency is to revert to what we know. We tend to get paralized and fearful, or explode, or escape into a fantasy world, and we pass those patterns along.

God loves us unconditionally. He is the ideal parent. He has to follow laws though, and so there are consequences. His promise is that He will always love us and will help us to learn and improve ourselves, and reach our potential, and return to His love, even when we have to receive consequences.