The discipline in public vs discipline at home thing never made any sense to me. Why do some parents refuse to discipline their children-on any level-just because they're out somewhere? If I acted up as a child..which didn't happen often, it was dealt with and I wasn't given any leeway because we were in public. If anything, a kid acting up in public should be more of a priority because there are innocent bystanders involved. People used to get up and excuse themselves and their crying/screaming children from a restaurant..outside or into the restroom until the child calmed down..these days, they just sit there.
My parents spanked us, they can count the times it was necessary and they never used a belt or anything else on us. We didn't feel less loved when we did get a swat, we felt like morons for doing something we knew was wrong. It's the same with my kids; I have never beaten them, whipped them or belittled them..but I gave a smack to the hand or butt here and there when they were smaller. Again, it didn't happen often.
I would never begrudge a person using resources for help in a difficult situation, but people who are so lacking in common sense and instinct that they have to read books and google how to raise a kid should probably spare the rest of the world and not have a kid at all.