Did all parents hit their kids in the 1970s?

[Polythene]

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

Yes, born early 70s, smacked a lot but my brother got it worse although I would say I was more emotionally abused by my mother. Father was very aggressive, a lot of shouting and arguing,although my mother would deliberately wind him up, he was a drinker. They had mostly an awful marriage although she tries to deny it now.
I definitely have issues from it all, one being I don't like confrontation and don't deal with it well.

I was born in the late 60s. I can't remember being smacked as a small child, but I was absolutely walloped as a teenager- one occasion being hit around the head and shoulders as I cowered on the floor, aged about 14.

I don't think that kind of beating was normal. My mother (who was the one who did the beating; never my Dad) was quite unstable though, and rather free with her hands.

Grew up in 1960s to early 70s. Hit at home with spoon over the head, hand on back of the neck, mouth washed out with soap, and at school with cane and hand. Nevertheless an extremely happy childhood, and we were well-loved. My only unhappy time was being severely bullied by other schoolkids.

I was born in 1972, it wasn’t banned until 1986 so it still happened in my school. Also late 80s things like ruler across the knuckles, being dragged up the corridor by your ear, having the blackboard rubber chucked at your head still happened.

Yes. Born in the early 70s. Regularly smacked/hit, sometimes leaving welts and bruises. At school, we had board rubbers thrown at us and were smacked on the legs. Also they washed your mouth out with soap if you swore. My brother got that one a lot and always just laughed like he didn't care about being forced over the sink and carbolic soap shoved into his mouth.

Not good times.

Absolutely. I used to wonder at what age a parent went from saying what a lovely cute baby to hitting them the first time, and what that cute baby had to have done to deserve being hit. I can't remember a time when I wasn't hit.

It stopped when I was 19 and told my dad I would call the police the next time he did it. And this wasn't being beaten for the sake of it, or a household where my dad hit my mum or where he got drunk. This was normal punishment for talking back or mucking about or shouting, usually after we had been told if you don't stop doing what you're doing you'll get a smack or a spanking.

It was utterly normal.

And when parents' interactions are just punishments without also showing tenderness, kids will muck about knowing they'll be smacked because it's the only notice the parents give the children.

Boys were caned at school throughout the 1980s until it was abolished in state schools in 1986 (implemented in 1987, the year I finished my A Levels).

My mum threatened my brother's daughter with a smack if she didn't stop mucking around and get out of the car. She was 4, so around 2001. My brother and his wife weren't there. That's when I decided never to have children because I couldn't trust my mum not to hit them and I also knew I wouldn't be able to tell her she could have them unsupervised.

It was a part of of normal life. If you misbehaved, you were punished and this sometimes came with corporal punishment. At school, it was a ruler across the hand if you spoke back to the teacher or chatted with friends when you were supposed to be working. If that didn't work, you were sent to stand outside the head's office so that all of the school could see you were being punished. At home, my dad had a leather belt that came off if we kids misbehaved; it was at least a final resort after several warnings. I don't think it was unusual, no.

Cant answer for the 70s but absolutely yes by both parents in the late 80s / early 90s.

Hand slaps or slipper whacks.

Sounds far too poetic, considering.

Even in the 80s/early 90s most kids I knew were smacked (firm hand on the bottom or legs).

I don't think that sounds normal either, and I'm sorry for what you went through.

Yes, and was just normal. Not thrashing - and never with an item (slipper etc) just being smacked if you were naughty. It never came as a surprise and you soon learned not to lie or steal the biscuits again 😀. I don’t think it happened after the age of about 8.
Much better than the emotional punishments of nowadays if you ask me - naughty step or telling your kids how disappointed you are with their choices is cruel because it’s psychological and it lasts. A smack is quick and done then it’s back to normal. Much less frustration for the parent as well as you could nip bad behaviour in the bud early and didn’t end up so frustrated.

I was born late 60s so grew up in the 70s. We were never hit, nor were any of my close friends. My parents were in a very close knit group of friends and all I remember is love and laughter.
My mum never even shouted at us throughout my life, not even teenage years.

Thrashed and beaten, no.
A tapped hand or a whip round the legs on particularly naughty events, yes.

Yes. I think it was their favourite pass time back then, a bit of child smacking to get their frustrations out.

I was smacked on the back of my legs. My husband was hit regularly with a washing stick. I remember teachers regularly hitting children at school with a cane (late 70s / 80s) and the home economics teacher in high school throwing pans at us.

I was thrashed once for swearing ( although I didn’t).
I remember my brother being hit around the head with a big thick textbook by the headmaster. It brought on an asthma attack. My dad went in and “had words” with the head but I don’t think many words were exchanged.

Same.
I was aware other kids got smacked, but I never did, and nor did my friends.

I think that people are so focused on the 70s . It is happening in 2026 ,not sure what the point of the post is TBH . Children are being abused every day by their parents.
The law has changed but it is still happening and worse!

AAAAARRGGH all these heads being hit! It's making me feel sick!

Surely they knew heads were precious and vulnerable back then?

born in the mid sixties and very rarely smacked by my parents. Smacking, cane and other physical punishments common at school though (although usually only for boys). My brother and I LOVED being left outside the pub or in the car with a packet of crisps.,it was a huge treat and only happened occasionally on holiday. We would have been at least five and nine though - not tiny.

My parents? Only once that I remember.
Got the cane three times at school - two of those before I'd left primary school, and then once when I was 15.

Or gets off on it.

These threads crop up regularly

Regularly slapped / smacked by mum. Never my Dad, even if I aggravated him

Yes. Smacked regularly. It shocks me how normal it was but now realise not all my friends were hit

Got hit at home all the time, for anything my parents didn't like/couldn't be bothered to explain/held danger of a different opinion to them

Also got smacked at school, which I actually preferred: it was a real misdemeanour on my part, the expectations I had failed to meet were reasonable ones, once the smack was done, I was free to rejoin the herd, I wasn't scared of my teachers, they didn't get a savage feeling of joy or righteousness from it.