while parent's shouldn't use violence, they have no obligation to do anything for the child beyond keeping them alive.
Oh, I disagree. What about loving the child, teaching them good manners (subjective, I know), promoting a nurturing environment for the child (emotional, social, physical, etc), to name but a few?
If all a parent does is keep the child alive, to me that is not a very good parent.
A child who does not obey can be denied freedom of movement (grounded), denied toys, and they can be denied all but minimal food necessary to keep them alive, etc.
All of these tactics are non-violent, yet they can have far greater psychological impact on the kids than a slap or spanking.
If tossing someone in a dark corner, denying them movement, contact with other humans, learning opportunities, sunlight, more than the bare minimum maintenance food, recreational time (and so on) is non-violent, then I do not think "non-violent" means so much anymore.
I usually agree with and enjoy reading your views on random stuff (from way before steemit even existed), but on this I will have to disagree 100% - unless I grossly misunderstood you.