You know the problem here?
Do-gooders.
Those are the people, armed with a complete lack of foresight, who have reduced whole communities to individual units in fear of disciplining their own offspring, lest they end up in court for 'abuse'.
The case used to be that when you were seen misbehaving and the news soon got back to your parents, you were dealt with appropriately. Or worse...you went running home reporting that you'd got a slap from a teacher or neighbourhood adult, then got another one.
Why?
Because you most-likely deserved it!! If you got a slap from someone well known to your family, you were obviously up to no good. I got quite a few in the past and was definitely up to no good at the time. I got a couple from the teachers at school and guess what....I was up to no good.
Would I have liked to have had it differently?
At the time, probably yes because it made a dent in my pride and my pant rear, but I can sit here now and honestly write that if I had not been checked at that time, my understanding of what is morally and socially acceptable behaviour would be much different from what it is now.
The do-gooders stepped into the arena when high-profile cases of abuse (over-extreme and unrelenting punishment) toward children began to get attention from the media and communities alike. Granted, the above situations have no place in any civilised society, but in the majority of scenarios where family discipline is administered in a strict and loving environment, where the line is drawn and the consequences are laid out, there is no abuse.
The do-gooders muddied the parenting waters and decreed that all smacking is a form of abuse and that "talking" should be the answer. My parents could have "talked" until they were blue in the face and I wouldn't have taken a blind bit of notice. I would have likely just carried on regardless, knowing that a "No, you shouldn't do that" would probably be followed by the same, or a "Stop that! You know it's wrong." etc...
And the reaction? "Sure, I know it's wrong, but what are you going to do about it.....talk to me some more?"
The short-sharp-shock (smack on the arse) is the key. Not just a gentle talking to...