02-24-2020, 01:37 AM
King Shlomo (Solomon) wrote this to share his legendary wisdom. Context and nuance are very important. Today's context is much different from his times or even the times of 50 years ago. From the Talmud, it becomes apparent that he is referring only to a young child who would not rebel and strike back. Social reaction might also be considered a "strike back" and today that would probably be the consideration. That is how the "withholding privileges" became an option. I don't think it is a better option because with younger children it takes much longer to impart the message. It often requires extreme emotional distress which is much worse than the quick sting of a slap (a "putch" we used to call it). Physical "warfare" is much easier to administer in a controlled fashion than psychological "warfare" and requires less imagination and effort on the part of the parent, whose resources (or lack thereof) should also be considered.