Most parents these days are afraid to discipline their children. Maybe they are afraid of getting arrested, who knows. If the kid is rational and sensible and decent, they can get away with it, but if the kid is rebellious and aggressive, they are fucked. Kids who might have been saved by being punished at the right time for their offenses are lost if they are allowed to get away with it. They become prostitutes, drug users, criminals, because they think they can manipulate everyone else without consequences. At the very least they make their parents' lives a living hell. Our culture has lost its moral center, which was based in Christianity. Few people have a strong moral code these days, and when they become parents their moral weakness is taken advantage of by their aggressive, arrogant children. The biblical rule "Spare the rod and spoil the child" exists for a reason. Not every child need punishment. Most don't need it. But some do, and if they don't get it, they are lost for the rest of their lives.