I find that to be bit strange. But I really don't see it cruel. As for spanking, I agree with PCB. Their is a huge diffrerence between spanking and hitting/abuse. My parents spanked me when I was a child, with a wooden spoon (ouch! jk :P ) it taught me to NEVER do anything wrong again. So I think spanking is a good method if its used properly. You wouldn't want to go overboard with spanking.