Punish them when occasion demands.
Till tomorrow this time, I will never support gentle parenting style. That thing is spoiling things for our education system and our society at large.
A child will insult someone and you will tell us that he is learning to be expressive.
A child will dress so indecently and leave your house and you will tell us we should allow them that we old schools and they are in the modern generation.
A child will behave the way he or she is not supposed to and you will only be shouting "junior stop that ", and the child will use that same bad habit to approach someone outside your house. What is wrong with using cain, what's wrong with giving the child one resounding slap ?
A child come home with a property that you didn't buy for him and you will overlook.
You buy a phone for a child that is not up to the age using a phone and you sub for for them and they misuse/abuse the phone and you are telling us that we should allow them that this is a digital age.
Don't pamper spoil a child, slap the child when occasion demands, flog the nonsense out of them when occasion demands, then use the verbal caution when occasion demands, let them know why they are being punished.
Back then, my father will wake me up at night or call me inside the room and start to query me, before asking me to go and bring a cain. And with that you will never try such act again.
But what is obtainable in our society these days is something else and it's finding its way to schools. Gentle parenting style to a greater extent is not really helping in the aspect of instilling discipline.