There are rules about what is reasonable.These rules look at the child's age,the child's past behavior, why the person is hitting the child, and so on. However, the law says that officials cannot hit people in prisons or mental hospital in the United States.some people think it is not fair that officials can hit schoolchildren and not prisoners.Many school districts have their own laws and rules that forbid hitting students. These laws change from state to state.It really depends on where you live in the United States.In contrast,in Sweden,it is against the law for anyone-parent or teacher-to hit a child.