Did all parents hit their kids in the 1970s?

[Polythene]

I often hear that this was the norm. But was it, really?

I was born in 1954, the last child born to my mother. She never laid a finger on me, ever, even when I was an obnoxious teen in the early 70s. She said she just didn't have the energy any more, however, she regularly walloped my older brother when he was young, up to about age 14. I wasn't aware of any of my friends saying they were hit either.

It was a thing back then and it was legal. Some parents hit their children because they thought it was the right thing to do, but as can be seen with some of the posts on here, did it reluctantly and feel guilty for doing it.

Others did it because they were violent people and it was allowed, like beating (and raping) your wife.

Thankfully, it’s illegal in most of the UK now.

Yes me and my sisters were smacked when
growing up

I and older sibling (both born mid-70s) were hit/beaten by our violent mother, who routinely picked fights so she could attack us. I was aware that plenty of other kids were smacked at home for being naughty but it always sounded less extreme than what I went through. There was at least a discipline element to it. As such, to this day I consider the words "hitting" and "smacking" to mean different things. Our younger sibling was not attacked by our mum and my mum even admitted to me once (somehow with zero remorse) that she reckoned he had turned out more confident than us because she "didn't hit him". (That was the closest she ever came to an apology and she later denied ever saying it - typical narc.) I do not remember even the threat of corporal punishment in school or at friends' houses, however. Also have never hit or smacked my own DC.

I was born in the mid 80s. Smacking was extremely common when I was growing up. No one was shocked when we spoke about our parents smacking us regularly

It isn’t illegal in the majority of the UK, as it’s still legal in England and Northern Ireland.

Smacking used to be strongly advocated in the conservative Christian circles I grew up in, so people like my DM thought they were doing the right thing in smacking their children. That does appear to be changing now, thankfully.

Yes sorry. I meant half. Two countries. I’m in one of them and happy that it’s illegal thanks to our government.

I have a dim recollection of a dinner lady at my first primary school threatening to smack a child! I was very little at the time so may have misunderstood, but at the time I definitely had the impression dinner ladies were allowed to do this.

My mum wasn't hit and didn't hit me.

My dad had a pretty abusive childhood and was pretty quick to slap me on the legs/bum.

It stopped the day I slapped him on the cheek before he could hit me.

No thankfully never smacked. Was caned at school on the hand for fighting.

I was born in 1971. Never smacked. Didn't know anyone for whom it was a regular thing.

I can remember very clearly a teacher putting a boy over her knee in class one day, pulling his trousers down and smacking his bottom, repeatedly. It was awful, she was smacking him so hard her face went bright red. The whole class knew that it was very, very wrong. We were about 8/9 years old.

No, some parents did not believe in hitting children in the 1970s. However, most did and we were hit regularly. It should also be remembered that schools also hit children and corporal punishment was also common. Whilst I accept it was a common practice and that my parents did what others did, I think it damaged me. Even now in a tough meeting where tensions are rising there is a part of me which is waiting for the blows to start.

nope never. born in late 70s. My brother was once, (by my father) when he was really badly behaved but i have a lot of siblings and only remember this happening once.

My mother (an academic in this area) once gave a talk about child developement to a group of parents and mentioned that she didn't believe in corporal punishment and got a horrified reaction from the crowd. This must have been in the late 80s or early 90s.

I grew up in the 80’s and wasn’t hit.

70s kid. Yes, we were smacked, particularly when little. Our parents would count to three and at three there was a slap. It was very common.

Other adults would do it too, it was seen as "a quick clip around the ear" if AA kid was cheeky or rude or misbehaving in public. My aunt was a nightmare for us, we were all scared stiff of her.

Headteacher of primary school used a strap to beat the naughty boys all through my primary years. We were all rather terrified of the boys naughty enough to get The Strap. Why that didn't make us terrified of the Head (whom most of us loved) I don't understand.

The past is a foreign country.

I have no way of knowing whether I was damaged by being smacked. Simply because my DSis and I were sexually abused by my F and others, so the smacking wasn’t the worst thing we went through.

What the smacking did mean was that we were sadly afraid of my DM as well as my F, so we were even less likely to tell her about what else he was doing to us. (She still can’t understand why we didn’t feel able to tell her, as she always thought she was very approachable as a mum.)

Some schools didn't. My primary school - with a very experienced Head - was absolutely against any physical punishment in the 70s.

No but we were constantly threatened so although not as bad certainly not good.

Yep. I still remember the handprint shaped bruise on my thigh when I was about six from my mother.

Tbf she was dealing with so much shit from my father, I think I was just an easy way of her venting. My father never hit me, just my mother very regularly.

Smacked yes - not often, but enough to be remembered.

Was a kid all through the 70s. Got smacked legs regularly bit never beatings. I actually preferred a smack to a talking-to. It was over quicker.

I’m sorry you went through that @LizzieW1969

Mine did

This is still most nornal where I live (not the UK). How else do you instill the respect in children?