Eishis Chail: I agree firmly with your opinion on spanking children, of course when done sparingly and with yishuv hadaas. I got spanked by my father only 3-4 times in all my childhood, but that was as they call it “gezunte petsh” and was enough for a long time. If petsh have to be repeated every Monday and Thursday then it is not working and only creates a bad atmospher at home. Better give a carefully hard spanking once in 2 years for a real misdemeanor than giving small spankings 4 times a month. Some of my kids got 1-2 times petsh and some did never get to a reason to get petsh and thats because they knew about the possibility of petsh, as one of the previous gedolim said that the kantshik in cheder is hanging on the wall mainly for the children to know that it could be used when neccesary, and so much to use it. About your suggestion that most mammes give petch, unfortunately as far i know very few mammes today have the courage to potch their kids properly and even fathers are getting fewer and fewer. Maybe they give some times here and there a small petshel for small kids for foolish or dangerous things they do, but most kids older then 5 years old do not know what petsh means, as far i know, maybe i am mistaken.
TLIK: The passuk “Chosech shivto” is “kipshuto”, look in the meforshim, look at other psukim in Mishlei like “Atu beshevet takenu vnafhsho mishoil tatzil”, look in Shevet Halevi Chelek 11 pshat in the posuk, and look also in shichas Lubavitcher Rebbe 19 Kislev 5731.