Yep, I'm with you there, on new age parenting that's scared to influct the slightest unpleasantness or lack of safety on the child. I see a strong correlation between that and whiny obsessive-compulsive emo kids.
My parents used restraint and prohibition, and I know I would have hugely preferred a spanking to being forbidden to use the computer for a week. As far as I can tell, the main difference in me from having been raised by restraint instead of physical punishment is that I'm a self-control fanatic but a total wuss about physical pain (never got inured to it). So I wouldn't feel too bad about spanking if I were you. What makes a far greater difference than the type of mild punishment, I think, is what behaviors are punished. Like if you consistently punish a kid for defying your authority even on small things, you're going to end up with a mindless little conformist, or a mindless little rebel-without-a-cause.
What kind of behaviors do you believe in punishing and what do you believe in encouraging?
