In no way did I suggest (or mean to) that "the only way to raise a kid with sense in their head is to give them spankings", I merely said that having the odd slap on the arse didn't do me any harm, I had a good notion of right and wrong when I was a kid.

Whilst parents still (supposedly) "legally" have this option in the UK, the law is such that if your child decides to throw your favourite vase on the floor and you smack them and tell them off, you could well find social services knocking on your door when the child tells a teacher at school, even if the measures you took were within the law. (I know somebody who is a *good* single dad who smacked one of his childrens bottom recently and ended up with a visit).

If children have no respect for their parents, how on earth can you expect children to have respect for anybody else or their property.

I was trying to get across the point that the balance of power that once was firmly in the hands of adults is now in the hands of children, it's no wonder that they feel that they can do anything when the threat of a single made up allegation is enough to strike fear into adults. I mentioned smacking to try to illustrate this point.