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My conception of ethically permissible behavior is based on the view that any decision is ethically permitted if it is voluntary and does not cause gratuitous harm to others. This is congruent with the early ethical stricture in medicine, Primum non nocere, "First, do no harm." However, our perception of harm must be qualified. A living being can be harmed without being harmed in a moral sense. I harm a mosquito when I swat it, but I do not harm it in a moral sense unless I assign a moral absolute value to the mosquito's well-being. To be harmed in a moral sense is to be wronged. Thus, my concern is with behavior that does or does not wrong another.

This article was a perfect example of equally divided opinions of this topic. The doctors say it is damaging causing depression and anxiety later on in life. The doctors are also saying that it will teach your child to react to situations in their lives with the same anger and resentment. On the other hand there are parents that live and breath everyday with their children. There has to be a middle ground for discipline. A great deal of interviewed mothers felt it was a necessary discipline tool while there were maybe a handful that felt it could be damaging. There is one question I am looking to have answered. Why is there such a gap between what doctors say and what parents practice?