Let me first say I am an educator,an aunt of a 9 year old nephew who talks to me about any thing freely and I live In the Caribbean [Barbados]. In the last decade our education system too has moved toward a more student centered approach and flogging is no longer permitted in out schools, except by administrators. I am of the view that there is nothing natural about a child being bratty and disrespectful. Parenting is a job a full time job and often people enter this field of work with little experience or maturity needed for such a challenging profession. As a result,our children are being raised by parents who fail to set standards and expectation for their offspring. Our children are not our friends, we are their parents they look to us for guidance, support and authority, once we establish these boundaries then we develop relationships with them where they understand that as their protectors and guiders they can talk to us about anything. In my opinion we have totally failed our children and are in the process of living with the monsters we have created.