Are we afraid of our children?

"In desperate housewives, Lynnette end up adopting, along with Tom, the love child (Kaila) Tom had before they were married. Kaila lives with them now and the show has made her character to be a very evil one. She is perhaps around 10-12 years old and yet she is capable of being a conniving little girl. She tricked her younger half brothers to jumped off the roof and burn a pizza place. When Lynnette brought her to the psychologist to correct her attitude and behaviour towards her half brothers, she threatened Lynnette to go to the police and tell that the boys burned the pizza place. When Lynnette brought her shopping to bond (per suggestion of the counselor), she intentionally acted bratty and demanded to have the expensive outfit. She also demanded to have ice cream and when Lynnette refused cause it's almost dinner time, she maliciously threatened to trick her brothers again to do something heinous. Lynnette was taken aback and gave Kaila a slapped in the face. She then immediately apologized and was mortified with herself. Tom was furious that Lynnette slapped Kaila."

Was Lynnette wrong in slapping Kaila?
>Absolutely NOT. Kaila knew exactly that she was being a very bad girl and there was malice in her intent. She deserved to be punished. Perhaps next time she will think twice about her actions in FEAR of another slapping.

Was there another way of punishing Kaila?
>Sure, there are plenty of ways to punish a wrong doer. But the key is will they learn from their mistake? Will they fear the punishment enough that will deter them from doing the wrong thing again? The punishment has to be severe enough to instill good behavior. Just look at the Military. Why do you think the soldiers don't misbehave? Because they fear the punishment and repercussion of their actions.

Should we never use corporal punishment to very naughty children?
>Absolutely NOT. Corporal punishment is a very effective way of punishing. The key is to know when to use it. The key is to know how much of it is enough. Our society has altogether frown upon corporal punishment because of potential for abuse. Yes I agree completely. There is a fine line between just punishing your child physically and being physically abusive. But most parents love their children to know the difference. Don't let the few abusers ruin it for the rest of non-abusers.

Are we adults afraid of children?
>A qualified YES. You hear of children threatening their parents to report them to the police when they don't like the punishment. Teachers can not maintain proper discipline in the classroom because the children have no fear. Children being disrespectful to adults verbally because they know that they can get away with it. It is so sad. I am glad that I will likely never be a parent cause I know I can never raise a child in this climate.