This happened one Sunday when I went to see my sister Cristina to spend some time together with our children. My own, Susana and Julio, were 10 and six respectively at the time, while Cristina’s son Daniel was eight.
While Cristina and I were having coffee, the children went out to play basketball in the garden. They were playing quite calmly until the ball went too high and ended up in their neighbour’s garden. Most unfortunately, the ball fell on to a beautiful bonsai tree that the neighbour had in his garden.
Naturally very angry, the neighbour came over to the house, confronting myself and Cristina. We decided to call in the children, and asked which of them was responsible.
Susana promptly piped up: “It was Daniel – he kicked the ball.” “Is that true?” Cristina asked her son. Reluctantly, the little boy nodded, admitting his guilt. His mother turned to his neighbour: “I am so sorry about this – please get a new bonsai and I will pay for it. As for this naughty little boy, his bottom will be paying for it very shortly.”
Satisfied, the neighbour left. As soon as he was gone, my sister took Daniel into the kitchen, where she grabbed a wooden spoon. “Pants down, right now!” was all she said.
Daniel began to cry but Cristina was in no mood to show mercy. “I’m going to give you something to really cry about in a minute. Pants down!”
The tearful boy obediently took down his lower clothes, exposing his little bare bottom. Cristina took a seat on one of the kitchen chairs and pointed at her lap. Daniel lay down on his mother’s knee, and she immediately began to give him a very sound spanking indeed, his small but sturdy bottom soon turning a deep shade of red. I must admit I enjoyed watching his spanking, thinking ruefully of all the times Cristina and I had been in the same position across our own mother’s knee.
While the spanking was being administered, my own children were watching on with interest and a smirk on each of their faces. I wasn’t about to allow that, so I said to them sharply: “Wipe that smile off your faces now, both of you, unless you want the same treatment as Daniel. This isn’t a laughing matter!”
At that they both became immediately solemn, though still watching thoughtfully as their cousin got his buttocks thoroughly tanned with the spoon.
Needless to say, by the end of the punishment Daniel was in complete tears and holding his hot bottom while he cried. Cristina sent him straight to his room and that was the end of the matter – although my own children were fortunate not to go home with sore behinds too!
Contributor: Laura