we never hit ours but did use the time-outs after one warning. the fear of us taking the car keys seemed to work the best when they got older and being given extra chores worked throughout their time with us. we also used rewards just as often, if not moreso as we did our best with positive reinforcement...lol, now that i reread that it sounds kinda like we could be talking about training puppies! not all that different i guess...