Are you wary of me yet?

Ehhmm guys I have something else to ask you. What do you think of the saying, 'spare the rod, spoil the child'?
Living here in Aussie, I have seen my fair share of spoilt kids- For example, my landlord's daughter, only 12 years old. When the father tries to talk to her when she is on the internet here is how it goes:
Landlord: Sugar, do you want some salad or anything to eat?
Daughter: Don't freakn disturb me dad. Can't you see am on the freakn internet? Don't be a fukn prick dad.
And I am not exaggerating, that is exactly how she talks. Her father cannot do anything because of well the law! The law states that if you hit a child, you have committed child abuse. The law is it really protecting kids? Sometimes am ashamed to a politician and a lawyer-the law can really spoil everything.
One day my landy got so angry he was about to smack her, but she ran to the phone and said, "Dad I am going to call Child Abuse Services. And the father is like, 'Viki can I sell to you a spoilt child, take her to Kenya and teach her a lesson?' I wish. Imagine she threatened to report her father to CAS.
I also confess that there are times I feel like I will smack her for talking to her dad like that. I feel like I have become violent because of wanting to teach her a lesson. Is it right to let a kid go wrong like this? Is there an alternative? Viki