To spank or not to spank, that is the question. To me, that decision is arbitrary. Whatever your choice, remain consistent. Too many parents claim that they're going to do one thing, then they don't follow through.
Here's an example: So my roommate lately has been allowing his girlfriend and her kid to come here at least twice a week. Regarding that, I'm already looking for a one bedroom apartment, but that's not the point. Anyway, the kid was acting like a complete ***. He straight up told my roommate to his face that he was
going to play a certain video game that my roommate refused him to play and that he was going to tell his mom if my roommate wouldn't let him. His mom was right there and she laid into him, or so I thought. She said, "After dinner, you're going right to bed." He saw this not as the end all be all but rather a situation he could weasel out of. So right in front of me, this kid apologized to my roommate by his mother's behest and he did so begrudgingly and somewhat sarcastically. His mother accepted this and rescinded her comment about going to bed and in fact told him he could play the game that my roommate refused him to play. That *** kid won because his mom is an enabler and gives in waaaaaaay too easily. Because there is no set boundary, this kid is going to be spoiled as *** and he's going to grow up thinking that anything and everything is available to him with a little bit of weaseling. I just sat there shaking my head. There are entirely too many parents like this nowadays, and then I get those kids who feel like they can do whatever they want.
I don't think Corporal Punishment is in order necessarily, but parents need to be consistent with their boundaries.