Not only were my parents very strict in this sense, I had teachers in school who could also dish it out ... I remember my 5th grade teacher quite well ... he'd pace around the room while he spoke and anyone caught pacing a note or acting up got whacked across the wrists with an 18-inch ruler he carried for that purpose ... he was very accomplished in dealoing such blows too, since he was the kettle drum player in a symphony orchestra ...

I never did regard that as inappropriate and think it wouldn't hurt a lot of kids today to have that same experience.