A case of honour
My parents were diplomats from Spain who would take me all around Europe throughout my childhood before finally moving back to Spain when I was 12. I spent the first … Read more
Warmbotty
A testing time
I went to a Catholic school back in the 1970s and early 80s. The school was typically strict and corporal punishment was well known to be used, but only in … Read more
Mum’s little secret?
Contributor Liam remembers the frequent bare bottom spankings he and his sister received from their mother growing up. Did these punishments conceal a deeper, sexual secret?
The Room (audio)
A woman in her 50s, who wished to remain anonymous, wrote to Maman with this vivid memory of domestic discipline being meted out to the children of her well-to-do family.
Grace and favour (audio)
In this audio version of a popular Maman story, Andrew tells how his desperation for suitable accommodation as a student led to him living with a mother who firmly believed … Read more
Smackings at the vicarage
This rather incredible story comes from the early 50s, when I lived in a village in the south west of England. Some of the details of what follows I only … Read more
Slippered together
My sister Isabel and I fought like cat and dog growing up, and as our parents were quite conservative traditionalists (not to mention regular churchgoers), one or the other of … Read more
Memories of the birch
I was brought up in Norway during the late 60s/early 70s and my experience of corporal punishment as a child was limited to bare bottom hand-spankings from my mother. If … Read more
Broken lamp, sore bottom
When I was eight years old, I spent part of the long school summer holiday with my maternal grandparents. I loved spending time with them – but I also knew … Read more
A little bit of drama
Before I was born, my mum and dad were involved in amateur theatre – in fact, its how they met. I wasn’t smacked for punishment at home, and the cane, … Read more
Witness to discipline
I spent my very early years in New Hampshire but in the early 1960s my dad landed a new job which caused the family to up sticks and make its … Read more
The American way
In 1987, I was given the exciting news that our family was to travel to Colorado. As a 12-year-old boy I automatically thought this meant a trip to Disneyland. I … Read more
Spanked to spanker
I have already shared a story about how my mother spanked me when I was a little boy. Although it hurt, in retrospect it did me a lot of good … Read more
A harsher reality
I think I may have had the odd smack on the bum as a toddler but by the time I was 11 years old, within at least living memory, I … Read more
A late punishment
Growing up in the late 70s in a small, conservative English provincial town, it’s no real surprise that my parents believed in smacking the bottoms of naughty children when they … Read more
The breadboard of education
When I was growing up, spankings were used by my parents as the primary method of discipline. Most of the time, my mother would take us into her room, sit … Read more
A gesture of discipline
The most trouble any of our daughters got into at school was when our youngest, Andrea, was suspended for three days. Andi was by no means habitually the naughtiest of … Read more
Memories of Gloria
Your feature about paddling in the Philippines struck a particular chord with me, as it reminded me so much of my own childhood back in the early 80s, when my … Read more
The girls and the hairbrush
I was born in Columbia (but moved to Spain with my family when I was 14) – this story comes from 1977, when I was just eight years old. On … Read more
Sharing the suffering
Looking back on my childhood in the Netherlands, few events have made such an impression on me as the first time I was spanked. I known others have been similarly … Read more
An old hand (audio)
Carolyn recalls her days as a teenage babysitter – and how the duty of keeping discipline in the households where she worked transformed her own intimate experiences.
Sore bottom in a caravan (audio)
Paul remembers a family holiday during which, when he was well into double figures, ended up in him being sharply reacquainted with a punishment usually reserved for much younger children…
A mass slippering
I went to a private all boys prep school in the early 60s and had a PE teacher named Mr Scott [name changed – Ed] who was very found of … Read more
A hollerin’ holiday
I never knew my dad – he was killed in the first Gulf War when I was just a baby and my sister only three years older. My mom, however, … Read more
An unexpected encounter
During the early 1980s, when corporal punishment (though rarer) hadn’t totally disappeared from British schools, I worked as a teacher. I had taken a break from work when Daniel, our … Read more
A sharp end to misbehaviour
My brother, who is just a year older than me, recently reminded me of the day we both received a sound spanking from our mum. Actually, he didn’t need to … Read more
Bottom lit after lights out
I have never fathomed out how my mind works and why it is that certain events, be they ever so short-lived, have been etched indelibly into my mind. The story … Read more
Leg smackings from Mum
Although my mother was certainly not above smacking me when I was a naughty little girl, unlike most children I generally didn’t get the punishment on my bottom. Instead, I … Read more
Bringing children to book
As I write, I have in front of me the parenting handbook that my parents’ church gave out in 1987. I won’t scan it and share it with you in … Read more
Bringing children to book (audio)
Contributor Melanie still has in her possession a parenting manual that was given out to members of her mother and father’s church while she was growing up. It has some … Read more
Bottom lit after lights out (audio)
Former English preparatory school pupil Thomas remembers his bottom’s introduction to the headmaster’s dreaded cane, after the young matron in charge believed he was responsible for talking after lights out.
Leg smackings from Mum (audio)
A contributor who has asked to remain anonymous tells us all about the smackings she got as a girl from her mother, whose choice of target was more likely to … Read more
Spanking in five acts
Prologue If anyone should ever ask me what my earliest memory is, I simply recall receiving a basic train set one Christmas – I would have been five years old. … Read more
Caned at seven (audio)
Graham recalls the first time his mother referred him to his father for a ‘big boy’s punishment’ – ending in a first and very painful encounter with the cane across … Read more
The benefits of spanking
When I was growing up, it was almost always my dad who was the one to spank us when we misbehaved. He would take down our pants then pull down … Read more