I got the occasional lickin' for... ggez, I don't remember half the times. Years down the road, imo, it's all just made me more liable to snap at intense moments and do stupid, mean shit in times of high stress. No doubt there's a rich psychology behind it. And conversely, I've known plenty of people who got the deal for pushing too far as kids, but that never stopped them from being rotten, pushy, and manipulative as adults; in fact, it would get worse once they were away from the threatening parent, and what would stop them from getting still more so without the more of the same? Violence can't be the answer. I would prescribe instead three hits of acid with, say, the Dalai Lama. That would knock some sense into the little fucker.