Does this count as abuse?

Another reader tells his story:

For a two year old in the middle of a screaming tantrum a glass of cold water in the face is much better than a spanking. First time i saw it was while in college in a grocery store. A young mother asked a clerk for a glass of water and then she silenced her screaming kid. I used it fifty years later on one of my grandsons who, at the time, was temporarily in my care. It worked on him the same way. It isn't cruel, doesn't hurt them a bit, and gets their attention big time.