I think the spank needs to be reintroduced as a higher used method of discipline. I've noticed that in these times where kids get punished with a timeout or something, most make it a moot point by playing videogames or keeping themselves amused while being 'punished'.

I notice two things increasing with kids who weren't given a good smacking when they did the wrong thing. The first is just as they didn't fear their parents they don't tend to fear or even respect authority later on and the second is that some of these individuals get overly sensitive about really stupid things like how something is worded.

I'm not a fan of parents who go overboard as a minority tend to do in most places, but removing the ability to properly discipline a kid just leads to more anti-social behaviour later down the track. Get spanking parents!