My dad was a real monster and beat us regularly whether we deserved it or not, just depended on what kind of mood her was in. I didn't even want to have kids in fear I'd parent like he did. But, I used the experience to do well by my son. In the early years of my son's life, when I often wondered what I should do with him in certain situations I would think, 'what would my dad do?', and did exactly the opposite. Worked like a charm. My son (he's 10 and I'm a single dad now) and I have the closest father/son relationship I've ever seen, and I'm really proud of that. I always tell him that I'm not his fucking friend (I don't have any 10 year old friends), and how friendly we can be depends solely on how well he behaves. I've only had to hit him three times in ten years: the first time was when he was six hitting and throwing things at his mom; the second time was a couple years later when he was lying pathologically and getting in trouble at school. and the last time was a couple of months ago just because I felt like it. JK. Before each whuppin', I would tell him it was coming for weeks. I actually described how it was going to be, and that he could prevent it. Can you imagine your parents warning you repeatedly before you got it? That's a cool dad
I tell him afterward how it ruins my entire week, and he sees how sad I am having to do it. But each time it's an instant cure, and we're even closer than before. But his love and respect for me is the real deterrent to keep him in line...