I believe spanking under the right circumstances, but a child of 12 months is too young to spank. A child between say 18 months and three years might receive a swat or two on the bottom or a tap on the leg, but never the face. And it shouldn't be hard; it's really something to get the child's attention.

None of us wants to get involved in another parent's decisions, but slapping a baby in the face for crying on an airplane comes very close to child abuse and neglect. In fact, in many jurisdictions it would be considered child abuse.

So what is your duty as a witness? Well, technically if you are aware of child abuse and fail to report it you are guilty of a misdemeanor in most states. So what I would say is that if you are absolutely sure in your mind that a parent has crossed the line from discipline and bad judgment over into the realm of child abuse you should relay your fears to a member of the flight crew and tell them that it is your opinion that law enforcement should be called. Those of you who have witnessed the abuse should be prepared to give a statement.

This isn't something any of us want to do, and if an error is to be made I think most of us would probably err on the side of doing nothing. I am no different from anyone else; I don't want to get involved. But to the question of what one should do, perhaps the answer is simply to obey the law.