CHARLOTTE --- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney spoke candidly about the use of corporal punishment at a Rotary Club meeting Tuesday, to enthusiastic applause from the group.
"Parents, it's not abuse to spank your kids," he said. "They need it. It starts at home, knowing what respect for authority is. It starts at home. Let me tell you this, if you don't respect your parent, we're not going to be able to help you much."
Many of our Spectrum News viewers agree with Chief Putney.
More than 80 percent of people who took our poll on Twitter think parents should spank their children. On Facebook), people wrote comments like "I was spanked when I was a child and it taught me respect" and "My children were spanked, and now are hardworking, respectful adults."
"And that's what we hear a lot during our classes," said Erica Reid, a parent educator at Thompson Family Services, where she teaches classes to parents of newborns to teenagers.
Reid believes spanking is never the answer.
"I know a lot of people resort to spanking because it's a quick fix, they're frustrated or it's the way they were raised themselves," Reid said. "I disagree with it building respect. It establishes fear."
Reid points to numerous studies showing corporal punishment can have long-lasting, negative effects.
"It can increase aggression, it can cause developmental delays, and then it starts a cycle of abuse too," she said.
Reid encourages parents to look at alternative solutions to behavioral issues, like using time-outs and loss of privileges, establishing clear household rules, and rewarding positive behavior.
"There's a difference between punishment and discipline," said Reid. "With punishment, yes you get a quick result and the behavior stops, but with discipline there's learning involved - why the behavior is negative and should be changed."