I think it's about consequences.
Kids frequently aren't able to extrapolate consequences from actions in the same way that adults can, so I'm all for giving them a consequence that's easy to figure out. It's a lot easier to go from "doing X is bad because it gets me spanked" to "doing X is bad because it gets me spanked because I've upset someone" to, hopefully, "doing X is bad because it upsets someone". At least I think that's the way it worked for me as a kid.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Fri 2 May 2008, 15:12, Reply)