I think that's the implication; that the parents who aren't willing to do anything that may "mess up" their kids, as it were, are the negligent ones.
I'd argue that a lot of the involvement parents should have in their kids should involve boundaries and rules and the like; it shouldn't involve corporal punishment.
Hell, there's also the free range parents; not entirely sold on the method, but the idea of allowing kids to understand, on their own terms, how to act within a public space seems like a good idea in general.