I'm in the same camp as you, loolarbelle. I can see a need for it especially when the child is too young to explain things to. A tap on the hand with a sharp toned ” No!”  is better than a scalded child. Accidents happen and to me it's another route to preventing them. I'm not condoning beating a child obviously - that's a whole different scenario. I'm talking about a slap on the wrist type smack and no more.

Loolarbelle, I'm an assistant teacher and I work with 8 year olds. I come across so many kids and yes, there are some naughty ones. I also believe in positive reinforcement. What I normally do is listen to their explanation why they do silly things or misbehave. Words like, 'No!' 'Don't! and 'Stop it!' are common words which becomes a place of tension and negativity. We must also encourage them by giving them a gentle pat, or loving words which will do the trick. For example, 'Well done!', 'Wonderful!', 'Good job!' Sometimes it's good to ignore behaviour that you don't want to see repeated. By doing so, they will give up the performance without an audience.

Another suggestion would be Timeout. It involves removing a child from a worsening situation to give them and the parent time to cool off. It can be helpful when you're on the verge of smacking them. A Timeout room/corner should be dull and boring. Tell them that this is where they will stay until they have calmed down. Move away quickly. Don't stand there and feel bad about your actions. They will know you are doing this and act up even more!