Smacking children, when we were young

[Flatpackjackie]

Wasn't it normal to smack children until recent years?

As a child I was smacked every day. On the bottom, legs and head (on occasion the face).

I think it's absolutely right that it's no longer acceptable, but weren't we all smacked back then, by both parents?

I grew up in the 80s and was smacked by my mum and step-dad, all my cousins were smacked by their parents too. Usually legs and arms but got a few hard smacks to the face by my mum as a teenager. I don’t speak to her nowadays!

I'm 30 this year and yes, it was considered normal for us to be smacked. My youngest brother is 25 and he was also smacked.. I'd say right up until his mid teens so about 10 years ago?

I never thought anything of it other than that I either deserved it at the time or if it was highly unfair - I never thought that it wasn't acceptable.

Obviously, my opinion on that has now changed but I don't think my mum and dad were in the wrong either.

I'm late 30's and smacking happened regularly in our household.
I'm another who thought it was common in every household.
I can also remember a child being smacked in primary school by a teacher.
I don't smack either of my children.
I don't respect my parents for smacking.
My father in particular had an explosive temper and would readily hit and shout at us. I just look back at it now as him being out of control and pathetic.

Seventy nine I have exactly the same experience.

I'm nearly 39 and I got a real good hiding from both mum and dad as an extremely rebellious teen.
Two of my close friends also did.
Although we were naughty, I honestly believe if they'd been better parenting early on it wouldn't have been necessary.
And it achieved nothing.

I was beaten and had my nose broken.
My sister was never hit.
I was the well behaved (scared not to be) child, she was the golden child, always in trouble.

Cut ties with my mother (and the relatives that didn’t help) when I was an adult.

I was smacked my friends werent.
I dont smack my kids it doesnt cross my mind to lash out at them like that.
I cant understand why it was seen as ok by some back then because other people may have done it. It was never ok.
Its abusive to hit your kids.

I'm 40. Morning dad never smacked us at all. My mum did and I totally lost respect for her because of it. My DH used to be hit with a slipper! Disgusting.

I am early 60's and yes I got smacked as a child but certainly not regularly.

My school used the cane on boys and girls although I was never naughty at school so never got it.

Also some teachers would throw the wooden blackboard rubber at pupils which could have been dangerous

I'm late 30's and my dad never smacked me. However, I grew up watching and hearing my step mum hit my step siblings, she would lose control.
As a result I always vowed to NEVER smack any children I may have had, and I have never will smack my child.
My step sister, thinks nothing of smacking her children.

I’m early 40s and was smacked twice. My friends never mentioned being smacked.

I'm in my 40s and was smacked. So was everyone I ever talked to about it - cousins, friends, etc.

I'm 20 and remember being smacked once or twice

I wouldn't do it to my boy though

I'm 38. I thought it was normal in every household in the 1980s and 90s.

No, it wasn't. My oldest was born in 1983, and it was a definite no-no: not that that stopped everyone, of course. It was however pretty normal in the 50s and 60s.

I think it’s symptomatic of something else op if you were smacked that often!

But yes a smack here and there seemed to be commonplace back in the day

In my 30s, have siblings and we were never smacked.Childhood friends who lived across the road from our family at the time, 6 kids and both parents smacked all the kids, all 6 by late teens had all moved out and contact between them and parents all but stopped.
Never been acceptable or the norm in my life to smack children, the community did not look down on this family well.

Yes it was normal back then, not everyday though, only when we were naughty and we were naughty, and only on the bum.
I remember going round my friends house when I was about 5 and his DM pulled his trousers down and smacked his bare bottom - I was shocked at that.
Teachers used to throw board rubbers at us and the boys used to get the slipper.
I don't consider it being abused by my parents, yes they smacked me, I still loved them and respected them though. It was the norm.

I'm in my late 40s and was smacked regularly, but not on a daily basis! That seems excessive. In my group of schoolfriends - 7 of us - I can remember only 4 of us were smacked, and I was the only one who was smacked by my DF. A good friend finds it shocking that girls (my DSis and I) were smacked by their DF. I have a lot of resentment towards my DParents about it, as I know I wasn't a bad child - nor was my DSis - and when I think about it, DF was VERY heavy handed. It wasn't a slap on the wrist or the back of the legs, it was repeated whacking on our bottoms. I still remember one incident in particular when he was smacking my DSis - it was horrible and he went overboard. I ended up crying (I will have been about 10 and she 7 - my DM just stood there watching). I think it was actually quite abusive, and I blame my DM just as much, if not more, because she actually encouraged my DF to do it: we would do something that she was angry about and she would wait 'til DF got home from work and tell him so that he would hit us. I don't understand how she could do that: my DC wind me up something rotten sometimes, but when DH comes home I'm over it - I can't imagine saying 'DS was naughty 2 hours ago, hit him'. We don't smack our DC - I really don't see how I can tell DS not to hit his brother when he's angry with him, and then do exactly the same myself.

Early twentis and I was smacked/beaten constantly until about 12.

I would never ever dream of putting my hands on my children.
DH was also brought up getting a smack now and then off his dad.
If DH ever smacked them that would be the end of us.

I’m 40 and we were smacked.

My brother once had a teacher throw a board runner at him for answering back!

One primary school,teacher I had regularly broke wooden rulers hitting pupils.
One secondary school teacher used to throw wooden blackboard cleaners at pupils.
One neighbour used to use his belt on his dcs for minor things. He was a policeman.

And I hadn’t thought but yes in comics we read it was normalised. Getting caned or the slipper.

Thank God it has changed.

I’m 43 and regularly got smacked at home ( and got the slipper from my dad) and got the cane at school from the headmistress. Teachers would also clip you round the ear , chuck chalk at you and other such stuff.

I don’t think it’s generally had a big effect on me. It was just pretty normal. I guess tho the effect it has on me is that i’ve Smacked my kids a couple of times. Not as a habit or ever regularly, but a couple of times when I’ve Been at the end of my tether. Then felt awful about it and used it as s chance to apologise, explain and talk about stress/ anger/ respect etc.

It was normal. In the 1960s I was told to wait until my father got home from work to give me a good hiding. Also to have the board rubber chucked at you at school and be rapped over the knuckles with a ruler.

I grew up in the 50s/early 60s when nobody thought twice abour it. It was more normal to be smacked than not and boys got the cane at my secondary school.

I’m in my 60’s. My father used to drag my sister round by her hair and beat her with a horse whip. Kids at school were caned, as I grew up in England. Here in Scotland, schoolkids were beaten with a thick leather strap called a tawse.
Smacking by parents was universal among my contemporaries.
There were a lot of traumatised WW2 veterans among my parents generation, who vented their issues in domestic violence, both emotional and physical, and I think institutionalised violence was endemic. Our local policeman boasted of pushing suspects down the concrete stairs in the police station. The past is very definitely “a different country” - thank goodness!