Quote:
Originally Posted by EventHorizon
to answer your questions, yes, it is somewhat arbitrary. you can't control the exact amount of carrots the some restaurant is going to put in your soup, but they know when enough is enough to make the soup work. the parent gets to decide that based on the severity of the behavior leading to that punishment.
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Your definition excludes the possibility of defining anything that doesn't leave a lasting physical damage (bruises, bleeding, broken bones, etc) as child abuse. By your definition even forcing a child to place their hands in or stand in salty ice water for 90 seconds would not be child abuse, nor would resorting to whipping them until they can't stand for the slightest reason, just something the parent decided was merited based on the severity of the behavior.
I have not yet heard a single justification for corporal punishment that did not boil down to one of three things:
1. You can't stop me
2. They're not big enough to stop me therefore it must be ok
3. It was done to me therefore I am justified in doing it to others