The "Wait Until Your Father Gets Home," method is wrong for several reasons. Not only does it make the child fear their father. but, to give an example of what you said, say the child is naughty at 2pm, and the mother says, "Go to your bedroom and wait until your father gets home," and he gets home at 6pm, the four hours of waiting are cruel. If we compare it to death row, the reason why there is a time delay between the sentence and the execution is to allow for appeals, which, in some cases, are appeals to the Governor, in the USA, the sending a child to their room is to create an atmosphere of fear. And, if the father is not in a good mood, he can take it out on the kids.

I remember a teacher from my old high school telling me about how she took a boy up to the office for doing something to a fellow student and his the boy's father was a prison warder. The deputy principal, typically a kind, caring man, said, "There's only one thing for me to do, I hate it, but sometimes, it's needed." And he went across to the cupboard and pulled out a cane. The boy said, "It happens to me at home, I'm hardened against it." Too frequent spankings can cause it to lose any effect.

I don't believe in belting kids and I certainly don't believe it with small children. And I am also against paddling in US schools.