Smacked bottom games

During the 1970s, when I was growing up, a smacked bottom was such a routine punishment for a naughty youngster that we children regularly included corporal punishment in our games, … Read more

Too hot to handle

One morning, when I was 10 years old, I had a school test I hadn’t revised for. My lack of application to my school work had already been the source … Read more

Making bottoms smoke

I grew up in the 1960s in the English town of Walsall, in the West Midlands. Back then, Walsall was a hugely important centre for the saddlery industry, so it … Read more

Sweet – and bitter

One morning, as he came out of the shower, my son was startled to find me sitting cross-legged on the edge of his bed. He approached me nervously, realising by … Read more

Mothers say yes to spanking

An informal reader poll by the Madera Tribune in 1950 found, perhaps not surprisingly, that mothers were in favour of corporal punishment. The newspaper’s column The Inquiring Reporter posed the … Read more

Letter from a strict mother

We tend to think of the current stormy debate about spanking children as something new, but the truth is, the practice has always been a contentious issue, as can be … Read more

A heap of trouble (audio)

In this sweet account from her kindergarten days, Hannah recalls a smacked bottom she received from her teacher for disobeying a rule meant to keep the children safe.

Mothers Talking: Sheila

Sheila is a widowed English mother of three who by the time of this interview was also a grandmother. She talked frankly to Maman about her thoughts on child discipline. … Read more

Two doses of the cane

When I was growing up in South Africa, during the 1960s, the cane was in widespread use for corporal punishment. Not only was it used pretty freely in schools, but … Read more

Listening to punishment

Back in the early 1960s, I worked in an English primary school as its secretary. The headmistress, Miss Brown [name changed – Ed] was essentially my boss, and her office … Read more

My poor lil’ peach

Every May, the peaches start to come in over Georgia in the southern US – in fact, it’s often called the Peach State. This happened when I was five years … Read more

The slipper for girls

When I was a girl, corporal punishment for unruly children was an accepted norm of family life. If you misbehaved, you got your bottom smacked. Children understood this, it kept … Read more

The bare facts of childhood

Of my parents, Mum was definitely the biggest spanker, although I did get a few from my father as well. She only ever smacked me on the bare bottom, too. … Read more

The magazine

The last smacking of my childhood was also by far the most memorable – and it all started behind the village cricket pavilion. I had gone there scrumping for apples. … Read more

Big boys’ punishments

I don’t believe I was especially naughty as a child – at least, no more than many other 10-year-old boys of my acquaintance.  Unfortunately my mother – of stern, unyielding … Read more

My sister’s bare bottom

I was brought up in what was then West Germany during the 1970s. Both myself and my older sister were regularly spanked when we misbehaved. However, perhaps because of having … Read more

Uncomfortable home truths

One of my granny’s neighbours, the McKinnon family, were widely rumoured to be frequent smackers. On our regular visits up north, my cousins and their friends would gleefully share with … Read more

First time for the twins

Up until the age of three, my twins – son Archie and daughter Amie – had never had what you might call a proper spanking. They had experienced a smack … Read more

Saving my own skin

When I was around six years old, I discovered that I had an amazing power: the power to get my little sister into big trouble!  Don’t get me wrong – … Read more

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