There's an objective answer to this question: No, don't hit your kids, there's been a mountain of scientific evidence that it leads to long-term mental health problems (yes even spanking). But I don't think proponents of child abuse give a shit about evidence. Every time evidence is presented, they say "well I was hit and I turned out just fine", as if that's proof of anything at all. It reminds me of this video I saw where a child psychologist went into a prison and asked inmates whether or not they believe it's ok to hit children as discipline. Half of them said "I got hit as a kid and turned out just fine"... while an inmate in prison. If anyone's interested in the mountain of studies I can link them or you can google them yourself.