Old and bitter? I'll likely live to a ripe old age without the stress.
There is, of course, a learning curve. They do something you don't like, you let them know not to do it. I would use physical punishment. Certainly not "the belt", as another poster accused me of (ironically enough
after I had clarified that I meant nothing of the sort - got to admire the reading skills posessed by the people of today

), but just enough of a spanking to get my point across. Other methods of punishment can work equally well, and may be necessary if what you're doing is not working.
Sending a kid to their bedroom, where they have roughly $10,000 worth of electonics and, best of all, no 'nagging' parent, does not work however. Smiling at your kid, making baby noises, and saying how cute it is that they just squirted catsup all over someone at a restaurant does not work either. (Amazingly enough, people don't appreciate that sort of thing. I know that must come as quite a shock to you...) Nor do the myraid other things most parents seem to consider punishment, in the rare case they're a parent that thinks punishment is even necessary - ever.
The fact of the matter is most people who're raising kids should probably buy & read a few books on it - but paper is kryptonite to people these days, watching IQ-sucking tv shows like that one with Ditz Hilton or fear factor is where it's at. Nothing quite like having a less active brain than when you're sleeping :roll: