I don't agree with that. As a kid, if I did something wrong, my parents would slap me to teach me a lesson and most of the time they brought the point across quite well. Now I would say I'm the least violent person I know.
Yes... but you're an intelligent person (or so I assume

) but do you really think the average cretin out there can reason to that extent. I don't.
I didn't want to say this really because I know i'll get flamed for it, given the responses thus far, but in for a penny...
I hit my mum when I was 10ish. Didn't seriously hurt her, and only once, and it was in response to being hit myself. I'll come clean too... I deserved a slap, I had called my mum stupid infront of her and my friends, it was only meant as a joke, but also there was a fair bit of showing off to my mates about it. When we got home and my friends had gone she belted me and screamed something like "how dare you call me stupid" and it seemed perfectly clear to me what should be my response, I belted her back. Unfortunately for her I was much stronger than her by the age of 10.
Had she confronted me sensibly and calmly I would have responded in kind, and in all probabilty apologised and gone off with my tail between my legs. I do accept it was quite wrong to say that about her, joke or not. But she didn't, she came out of nowhere and knocked me into a wall, and that was it, total clarity, I've been hit, I hit back, that's the level we are arguing on now.
That is what i'm afraid of, violence breeds violence. You likely feared your parents to some extent. I never did, I merely gave what I got. But there are a lot of other kids out there who don't fear their parents, or the police, or the other kids with knives and guns and are prepared to initiate the violence instead of simply responding to it.