I can tolerate your typical crying in a public place, but some kids do need a good beat down by their overly sensitive and compassionate mothers. Nothing gets the piont across like the back of your hand. At least that's what I remember when I acted like a brat. Didn't happen often, but when it did, I deserved it.
My sister is like this. She will "reason" with him. Try and make him understand through words why what he is doing is wrong. Sounds like great parenting, but she's still doing this 5 years later while her oldest son is getting more and more of a brat. Now he's old enough that it's hard to spank him. He's 9. And she still tries to reason with him.
She was just telling me that she was trying to give her new baby a bath and my nephew comes in from outside and walks all over the clean towel. She tells him to get off it and not to step on it. He does it again. She points the finger and warns him that she'll take away some toys if he doesn't stop. Then he just puts one foot out and touches the towel with the tip of his shoe. I asked her why she just didn't pop him across the mouth right there? She said it was cause she was holding the baby, which makes sense, but there's always an excuse as to why she won't smack the kid.
Once, when I was visiting my sis, I was outside on a bench swing and out of the blue I get hit with a stick across my face. I think my nephew was 7. My immediate reaction was to throw my hand in the direction of where the stick came from. I ended up smacking him across the mouth.
Not too hard, but enough to get his attention. I would like to think it was more of a reflex because I had just been hit with a big stick. No blood or bruises on him, just total shock on his face. He wasn't crying, then my sister comes out a minute later, and immediate tears and running to his mother. She didn't buy the act either once she saw the scratches on my face. He doesn't pull that crap when I visit anymore.
I watched The Exorcist when it was rereleased in the theatres and some family brought the ENTIRE family, about 7 or 8 people. I think there were 4 kids, youngest two couldn't have been older than 8 or 9. Sat right behind me after coming in late. Those f'rs pissed me off the entire movie. Kids running down the isle, kicking my seat, the youngest ones scared out of their friggin minds, and the parents were talking and making out. at the EXORCIST??? go watch Schindler's List if you want to make out.
That's one thing that I really appreciate that my parents did for me and my sis growing up. They rarely gave me anything for free. if I wanted a new toy, I had to go cut the grass or clean or something. Very valuable lesson, nothing is free. I had a job when I was 14, had to save 20% of each check and paid about 75% of my first (used) car when I was 16, which was something like $5000. I don't think this is practiced much anymore. I talk with the parents at work and none of them have set chores or get an allowance for doing chores. I'm not a parent, so maybe I don't understand the dynamics, but that isn't teaching a very good lesson about work or money.
They don't have to worry anymore. Now you get rewarded for screw ups and if you don't feel like working, just sign up for wellfare. Haven't you heard? There's a limitless supply of money to take care of all those who are too lazy to take care of themselves or would rather have loads of babies.
My fear was the wooden spoon. You know those long wooden handle ones that you would use for pasta or a sauce. That thing friggin' hurt. Once my sister and I hid the ones that were in the kitchen, but more appeared when they were needed. It was the perfect weight and shape to put a nice welt on your ass through jeans. One or two swats was all it took.