What is YOUR definition of reasonable discipline of a child?

[NJGOAT]

I stated my opinions on this on the other thread, but thought I would share here as well. I'm not against spanking, but I also believe that it is a last resort punishment. My wife and I could count on one hand the number of times we have spanked and every time was for something that we felt was over the top behavior. 99% of issues can be solved without spanking, but for us those 1% times needed something to really get a point across and it's worked.

Everyone is going to have their own beliefs and methods of discipline, but I would caution anyone who would deal in an absolute. Every child and every environment are different. Some kids can be disciplined with a stern look, others need a firm hand. I don't believe that abuse can be defined per se, but I know it when I see it.

It's also very important to tailor your discipline to your childs age. As my son who is currently 5 has gotten older, time outs are simply laughed off. Being sent to his room isn't such a horrible deal either. What really gets him is having toys/priviledges taken away. I actually did give him a smack the other day, which was the first in a long time. The kids woke up very early and my son is not a morning person and should have still been in bed. It was after a little back and forth involving him hitting his sister, refusing to go back to his room and then hitting me when I forced the issue. A quick smack on the rear snapped him back to reality. He went back to bed, woke up a new kid, apologized for what he did and we moved on.