Interesting topic...
Here's a story from somebody who has a 12-yr-old, and who
had some very idealistic views on child raising...
OK, I guess I'm still something of an idealist, but..
When I was pregnant and our son was still an infant I vowed I would never, ever, spank him. Then he got into his toddler phase.. As it turned out, he was an extremely high maintenance and willful child. He was also prone to extraordinary bursts of temper. There were times when a single, sharp smack on the posterior was the *only* way to snap him out of it, nothing else worked. If we put him into his room he would just scream blue murder for hours at a time. It was not unlike having to slap somebody across the face in the event of hysterics.
So, my view is that it is best to avoid spanking whenever possible and to only use it as a last resort.