Well, I was actually exaggerating with the talk of the smack round the ear, but a spank on the bum and no Barney the Dinosaur for an hour is probably reasonable punishment. Emotion abuse can scar a child for a lifetime. Most people in the old days, like me, got spanked on the bum, not socially ostracised, and hey, look how well I turned out.
Also, I think the ostracisation of the lefty theory of the 'timeout' probably has contributed to the social ostracisation that gay people feel in society.