I don't have my own kids, but I kind of was in that role during a relationship. As I said, as far as I know, the kids were never hit by their parents, and certainly not by me, but I can't know that absolutely for sure. I did occasionally yell, and the boy would say "You sound just like my father". The kids were masters at psychology. In any case, I got along great with the kids, and I think they acted better around me than their parents because there wasn't much to be gained by manipulating me.The kids had been through a divorce and were living through a weird 50/50 custody situation, so they were pretty traumatized.I'm also at the age where I've had many friends who've had kids. Honestly, I can't remember one being spanked in front of me. I lived with a friend for a few months who had a wife, two kids (around 9 and 11), two dogs, and my cat, and during that whole time, none of us were spanked. Somehow things managed to keep functioning.