Sweden is quite extreme in international measurements of values and I think one part is disdain with which physical punishment of children is viewed. Physcal punishment in schools was abolished in 1958. The right to hit your own child was abolished in 1966 and a outright ban was instituted in 1979. I believe that was an international first, and now we have several generations where hitting kids is seen as abuse, no matter the relation between adult and child.

So when a couple of years ago a visiting Italian MP struck his kid in the middle of Stockholm, he was promptly hauled into court, creating much interest from Swedish and Italian media alike.