Disciplining toddler

My husband and I are from totally different backgrounds. His mother always talking about how old fashioned she is when it comes to anything, which he’s the only child with her. My toddler is 2 and every time he has a tantrum, they want to baby him and pick him up. I do believe in comforting your child, but when it comes to them wanting attention, is it the right thing to do is ignore them when they’re acting up and let the tantrum ride out? I don’t believe in that babying stage each and every time there’s a tantrum. When I was growing up, we’d get spanked for not listening and doing the same repetitive things when told not to do something. After that, my parents, grandparents would have a talk with us about our bad behavior and encourage us not to act up or tell her not to do what we had done again.