Eva Mendes Responds After Her 'Spanking' Post Triggers Parenting Debate

Eva Mendes' comment about spanking children has received mixed responses from social media users, sparking a debate about parenting.

The 47-year-old actress drew an interesting comparison between "spanking" and "marriage" in an Instagram post Tuesday. She posted a picture of her "favorite red carpet dress" and also her favorite parenting quote. The quote read, "Spanking does for a child's development what hitting a spouse does for a marriage."

"I'm often asked what my favorite red carpet dress is. This @versace is definitely up there," she captioned. "Im not often asked what my favorite parenting quote is, but I'll post it anyway. Please slide if you care."

Many online users took to the comment section to express their disagreement with the post. "I don't know. I was spanked and now I'm a respectful adult. And believe me, I deserved those whoopings. I was a brat," one user wrote.

Mendes replied, "thank you for your comment. So happy to agree to disagree. Want this page to offer that in a loving way. We all parent our own way and I have no idea what I'm doing most the time."

"This didn't come with a manual. So when there's something that resonates with me, I pass it on. Lotsa love," she added. Another user commented, "Love you but completely disagree. The goal in raising kids is not to have to spank, but it's correcting before they can reason behavior out with you."

"Completely different than hitting someone," the user added. "That's not correcting behavior. We raised 5 respectful loving kind kids that were a joy to be around. Good fruit shows from loving correction."

"I totally respect you," the actress responded. "Thank you for a respectful comment. So nice to disagree with respect. I found the quote powerful and wanted to pass it on. Lotsa love to and yours."

"The Place Beyond the Pines" star shares two daughters, Esmeralda Amada, 6, and Amada Lee, 4, with Ryan Gosling. While Mendes took a break from acting after the birth of her daughters, Gosling is currently filming for "The Gray Man," which will also star Chris Evans and Regé-Jean Page.