Where intellect and eclectic intersect

When I see parents reasoning with their toddlers, because they think spanking is abuse, I want to go up to them and say, “You do realize that your child is not sufficiently developmentally advanced to comprehend what you are saying to them, don’t you? Swat them on the back side, just enough for it to sting a little, tell them no, and if they don’t get in line then, say you will do it again. Remarkably effective, and speaking to them on the only level they understand.”
Every time I go to a grocery store, shopping mall, park, restaurant…practically any public place, I see these children who are acting in ways that would have gotten me smacked ten ways to Tuesday when I was a kid. Why? Their parents think they can have a rational adult discussion with someone who only recently figured out how to use a toilet. It drives me absolutely nuts.