I, perhaps, have a skewed opinion of hitting in any form. I was hit daily growing up, usually not even knowing why. As a parent, I never once hit my daughter. I think this was due in large part to the nature of the child, who responded well to verbal communication and reasoning. That was enough.
I do know that children differ in the way they respond to reasoning alone. My sister had two daughters...the first was like my own daughter while the second...well...was totally out of control from the time she was born. I'm not exaggerating. Had I had such a child, I'm pretty sure I would have resorted to smackings on the bottom along with strong verbal reprimands. I'm just thankful i never had to deal with it.
Patty