I suspect that like a lot of parents in the 1990s, I did my utmost to avoid direct confrontation with my daughter, let alone get to the thorny issue of punishment. After reading dozens of books and articles on parenting, I was determined that I would never resort to what I saw as the brutality of smacking a child’s bottom.
Of course, we all know where good intentions can lead, and by the time she was six years old, I think it’s fair to say that Angela wasn’t the most charming child in the world. In fact, she was extremely self-willed and could be rude to adults and even violent towards other children.