The vase

One night, when I was 16, my aunt (she wasn’t really an aunt, but we called her Aunt Debbie) stayed with my sister and I. We were misbehaving as usual … Read more

Annie

When I was in the fifth grade, I joined a church youth group for kids in third through fifth grade. On the last meeting of the year, we went to … Read more

Just like Grandma

When my sister Donna died I became guardian of her daughter, Joanne. My own mother had given very strict punishment with a belt, leaving bruises for days, and bad memories … Read more

Mothers Talking: Tanisha

Tanisha is an African-American mother-of-two living in the US state of Georgia. At the time of this interview, her sons were aged 11 and nine respectively. What do you give … Read more

The Pigeon Men

When I was six, my youngest brother was born. I loved babies, so I stood by and helped either my mother or nanny with his care all through his infancy. … Read more

Mothers Talking: Wendy

Mothers Talking is a previously unpublished series of interviews conducted mostly online (occasionally by telephone or in person) with mothers who were, at the time, using corporal punishment on their … Read more

One ball too many

Some time in the late 1970s, I was round at my friend Ian’s house. We had both recently celebrated our 10th birthdays – Ian’s was just four days after mine … Read more

Aunt Betty spanks

When I was eight years old, I spent two nights at the house of my Betty, my favourite aunt. Aunt Betty didn’t have any children of her own – that … Read more

An enema from Aunt Maria

In 1974, I was 13 and spent my summer vacation with my best friend and his parents at a campsite in Bavaria. Unfortunately, after just a week, I became constipated … Read more

Caught stealing

When I was about 10 or 11 years old, my best friend was Eddie Miller. He was about the same age as me. We were always together. One summer, we … Read more

Sharing

Nanny was very concerned with sharing. She felt that this was an extremely important part of growing up, and she stressed it with Jeff and me throughout her time with … Read more

A stricter mama

Corporal punishment has long been a way of life for African-American children. There’s no getting around it, our mothers are just as strict as can be. I’m not complaining – … Read more

A reluctant belting

This happened one afternoon when my son John was around six. It was getting towards teatime – my husband Dennis had just got home and was sitting reading the newspaper, … Read more

The piano

When I was in the fourth grade, I became close friends with two fifth graders. We all were musical, played several instruments, and were confident around just about any instrument. … Read more

The orchard

One summer, when I was nine, I met my friend Jesse to play at her grandparents’ summer home, near that of my grandmother. Between our two properties lay a large … Read more

Uncle Jonathan

My friend Anna had an Uncle Jonathan, who lived with her and her father. Anna’s parents were divorced, which was rare in my generation and circles. The three of them … Read more

A drink to regret

In our house, mom used the belt for the more serious offences committed by my siblings and I. While I received plenty of whippings in my childhood, I can remember … Read more

Crush on Laurie

Corporal punishment was a pretty regular event in my family when I was a child. Spankings from my mother, which were usually done with a wooden spoon or hairbrush, were … Read more

I said no!

“I said no!” my mother yelled as she pulled my little hand out of the enormous plant and gave it a sharp slap. I was four years old at the … Read more

Overheard

It all started rather innocently during gym class. A friend and I were horsing around in the locker room when we were supposed to be on the playground exercising. When … Read more

The staircase

In the third grade in private school, children could be physically disciplined, should the teacher feel it necessary. We did a lot of lining up to go places, and there … Read more

My first dose of the paddle

Even growing up in the 90s, spanking was far more common than you might think. Most of the kids I knew got their bottoms warmed when they pushed their parents … Read more

Cracker of a caning

I was 12 years old and it was approaching ‘Cracker Night’ in Australia that everyone had bonfires and let off fireworks like rockets and bungers (which we called crackers, hence … Read more

The Cat

My mother was not a pet lover, and my brother Jeff and I wanted a pet so badly that we would have done just about anything. Each time we talked … Read more

Caning the girls

Some years ago now, contributor Tyler submitted this dialogue from a conversation he had had with Kim, a mother of two young girls in South Korea, about parenting attitudes and … Read more

She swings a mean paddle

Mrs Kearns had earned a reputation among both parents and students for being the strictest of disciplinarians who taught first grade at my Texas elementary school during the 1960s. As … Read more

The Tupperware party

By the time I turned 16, I figured that I was too old to be spanked. I spent most of that summer with my aunt, who lived on a farm … Read more

Cured of cheating

Years ago, more than I would like to remember, I was soundly spanked by a neighbour. Her name was Jan and I remember the spanking as if it happened yesterday. … Read more

Saturday morning

My brother and I had a typical sibling relationship growing up – in other words, we often fought like cat and dog. Although I was two years younger than my … Read more

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