Response to child hitting

There's a difference between giving your child a slap round the face for being a brat and abusing them. Even if they're old enough to listen to reason people can still be irrational or stubborn. Sometimes if you're in a state you need to be shocked back into reality.

My dad used to slap me when i was younger for completely unreasonable things such as not holding a pen right or misspelling a word when doing homework and i'd never do that to my child because i feel that was too harsh. However i feel a slap or two by itself as a last resort isn't abuse since if you control yourself it can hurt without causing any damage. Some parents can't control their children because they never punish their actions. The child doesn't respect their authority nor fear it.

If my kid acted maliciously or or started having a fit I'd try and reason with them and give them a bollocking. However if they're not willing to listen or reason with me and continue having a fit and being unreasonable i'd give them a slap to teach them that that's unacceptable behaviour. It should never be a first response however if you don't punish them when they don't listen they'll learn their actions don't have consequences and walk all over you.