To sum it all up:
A small slap, or a spank is Ok in my eyes. I never approved of it when I was a kid, but looking back at it I realise it was for my own good! :lol:
There is a long way to go from child-fostering to litteral child abuse. There are so many factors involved in raising a child, especially phycological, and I believe that one's attitude towards the child can do far more damage than a quick pull in the ear or a slap.
I once had a friend whose parents abused him phycologically. Of course he got pulled in the ear sometimes (who didn't), but he was also pushed so far that he broke the ties with them at the age of 13. I never saw it until it was too late, and he's now in prison. The scary thing is that when we were 4, his mother told mine (they are friends) that I would end up in jail if she didn't start following her example.