Definitely. Parents don't use any kinds of actual punishments these days, and as a result the kids know they're going to get away with whatever they want, the worst thing they have to face is a week without their computer, but then again most parents give in after a day or two. When I was little, I was given a smack when I deserved it (on the leg though, not the backside), even in public - it was more about the humiliation than the pain. But it worked, I learned right from wrong.