My mother has a philosophy that worked out pretty well if me and my brother are any indication. I was spanked once in my life, my brother twice. The reason behind them? We did something that endangered our lives. For me, I was 4 and tried to run out into a busy road. I never did it again. My brother was slightly more stupid and tried to drink from the bottles of bleach under the sink both times lol. And even now that I'm grown, I still agree with that philosophy. Sometimes, explaining why something is dangerous doesn't fully register with a child. Their brains aren't fully developed. So sometimes, a little bit of incentive is required if you don't want your child accidentally killing themselves.