The early chapters of Relentless describe Mark's childhood and many mischievous antics that got him and his brothers to be disciplined by his mother gently by cornering or spanking with a home slipper at the extreme.
(Location 191 - Kindle Version)They were no sooner out of their father’s car than their mother promptly administered a spanking with one of the duffers. Then she put the youngsters in separate corners of the dining room where the two, as if on cue, began to bawl.
Even cornered, the boys theatrically wailed but once their mum was out of sight they were laughing.
(Location 193 - Kindle Version)As Mark tells it, “As soon as Mom walked out of the room, we started laughing and couldn’t stop—deep belly laughs. We had explored the world and returned safely—our first stellar self-generated achievement—without any serious repercussions.”
But today with all the human rights, child-rights, and various authorities to protect those rights, punishing children is not taken with ease as those days. But I personally believe that punishments are a must to discipline children.
Where should we have the limits of physical punishments? How can we demarcate corrective punishments from abuse? Are there any alternative ways to discipline children without punishments?