It is my opinion that it is hard to bring up a baby without using punishments occasionally though if they are used too often the effect might not be satisfactory. Therefore, to improve the behavior of the child adults need to employ various methods. For example, if a very sensitive kid notices that his parents are ashamed of him it would probably lead him / her to stop. It is also important to keep in mind that children aren’t always aware that they are doing somethings bad, so sometimes a calm conversation would suffice.
Also, I believe that any reaction to the child’s acts should be adequate. The choice of penalty might depend on many factors (the consequences of the misdemeanor, the presence of remorse, etc) and a good parent tries to consider all of them in order to ensure the best outcome. Too mild punishments create an impression that everything is allowed and too severe ones result in anxiety or anger. Corporal punishments are dangerous as there is a risk that a victim of physical violence would end up in abusive relationships many years later.
All in all, I think that the best way to raise a child is trying to avoid punishments when possible but not hesitating to use them if the misconduct is serious.
