I believe in gradual change. Ending the extrajudicial punishment of children is not such a big step, because it entails only a small extension of human status (having already incorporated women, slaves, foreigners, etc.)
I doubt that judicial punishment of strangers is going to end anytime soon, but note how different that is to punishing a family member.
However, now you mention it, there is an interesting similarity. Why does punishment happen? Not for the reasons most people think. For instance, it doesn't (and can't) transmit moral knowledge from the punisher to the punished. Neither does it reliably cause obedience.
In reality, society punishes criminals in order to prevent greater suffering in the form of larger scale rioting and madness.
Similarly, parents punish children to prevent themselves from going mad. But if knowledge spread of how to be a better and happier parent then this sort of punishment would end.
I doubt that judicial punishment of strangers is going to end anytime soon, but note how different that is to punishing a family member.
However, now you mention it, there is an interesting similarity. Why does punishment happen? Not for the reasons most people think. For instance, it doesn't (and can't) transmit moral knowledge from the punisher to the punished. Neither does it reliably cause obedience.
In reality, society punishes criminals in order to prevent greater suffering in the form of larger scale rioting and madness.
Similarly, parents punish children to prevent themselves from going mad. But if knowledge spread of how to be a better and happier parent then this sort of punishment would end.
Such knowledge may already exist in basic form:
http://www.takingchildrenseriously.com/introductory_articles...