As a confirmed smacking mum, one aspect of family discipline which always use to amuse me somewhat was the fact that if the children had been spanked, only Mum knew what was going on under their clothes afterwards!
As a mother of five, I suspect I’ve smacked more bottoms than most of your readers have had hot dinners. It was never anything brutal, but it was always trousers and pants down (or skirt up, knickers down for the girls), over Mum’s knee and a well-warmed bottom from my hand. I always considered that I hadn’t made a proper job of it if the child wasn’t left crying loudly and with two little red buttocks.