>Disciplining a kid like they are a dog just feels like a marginal step up from corporal punishment. Instead I believe in a more empathetic approach.
This is an incredibly old fashioned view of dog training. Both science and actual practice have proven that, indeed, a more empathetic approach that focus on the positive side of behavior modification produces better and more consistent results. Indeed, this also translates to raising a kid, and is why physical punishment in the best case results in passiveness ("good behavior") and in many other cases, life long resentment.
This is an incredibly old fashioned view of dog training. Both science and actual practice have proven that, indeed, a more empathetic approach that focus on the positive side of behavior modification produces better and more consistent results. Indeed, this also translates to raising a kid, and is why physical punishment in the best case results in passiveness ("good behavior") and in many other cases, life long resentment.