I think what it comes down to is who is decided what's harmful and do you trust those institutions. Is spanking harmful? It seems close to one of those things

I think what it comes down to is who is decided what's harmful and do you trust those institutions. Is spanking harmful? It seems close to one of those things that get one into trouble with CPS What about letting a kid walk home from school on their own? We've seen parents get into trouble for that. How about letting the kid watch tv or eat too much junk food? What about teaching them certain ideas, ranging from racism to creationism to socialism to Amish-like beliefs? If you presume that parents love their children and want to do what's best for them and you inform the population of the collective belief on what is good or bad for them, parents will do their best to make careful trade-offs and are in the most informed and most invested position to make those decisions. Obviously some people are just terrible parents, but if there's any doubt at all I think we should err on parental sovereignty. Likewise, when considering what is beneficial or harmful to one's self, for the same reason, I think we should err on the side of individual sovereignty. There are cases where individual or parental authority should be overridden, but to my mind those should be chosen very, very carefully.