Kids do this because that's their job. They're children. They often learn about the world by pushing up against boundaries.

I was hit pretty severely by my parents. It didn't teach me any moral lessons. There's no way it would teach any child decent values, all they'll learn from it is (a) might makes right and (b) don't get caught.

I cannot conceive of and have never heard a convincing argument for seriously hitting a child. They're smaller than you, defenseless, and we're talking about a behavior that you would, hopefully, never do to a stranger, your coworkers, your friends, your spouse, etc. Why do it to your child?

The only real reason that weirdly makes sense, but I completely disagree with, is you think your child is your property, so you get to hit it.

My parents smacked me on the bottom or tweaked my ear a couple of times when I was a kid. I learned pretty fast that some situations are worth taking notice of...

It matters a lot how the parents treat you otherwise. In my case it happened rarely and it came with a scolding to clarify what I did wrong.

Exactly. Kids are like sponge. They learn to behave in a way they see in the world. That's why yelling and beating isn't a good way to raise them.

Source: was raised like that!