"Children are the future, today belongs to me."

It's a quote by Ms Naegles from the Simpsons.

This made me think of all the child protection laws we have today. I don't have a kid yet, but no spanking?! how in the world will a parent be able to discipline their child (or to get even with what THEIR parents did to them :)? I believe there are a few parents out there who are capable of bringing up a good child without corporal punishment, but for the rest, it is the most effective and straightforward way to discipline a kid. Not all parents have the time to explain every right and wrong to their child with all the sex and violence and weird things that go on in the world today. Moderate spanking might just be the negative reenforcement a child needs to avoid making the wrong choices early in life. I'm not talking about cruel and usual punishment like kneeling on broken glass or sitting through an entire episode of Oprah, but just enough pain (and perhaps humiliation) to get the point across. I'm sure glad my parents "taught" me the way they did when I was a kid. They helped me make the right choices that I was too young to comprehend, and then I gradually realized why I had to make those choices as I grew up.

Now because of a few bad apples (those who abuse their children), parents' ability to bring up a good child is crippled. At the same time, we see more and more young criminals and delinquents on the streets. Coincidence?