Smacking at home, how your parents carried it out

[gingerw74]

The conversation in the media yesterday about banning smacking got me thinking about how I was punished when growing up. I was a child of the 70?s/80?s, so things were quite different back then. I remember that dad use to work long hours, so mum was the one left to keep discipline at home. She had me and my two brothers to control, and I don?t think that we were ever the easiest of kids to look after on a daily basis. Mum struggled a bit and her only way was to smack us. She would take her wooden scholl sandal off (this was her house slipper) to wallop us with, it?s what she had close to hand! She also used Dad?s dad?s plimsoll (it seem so big at the time, it could be that we were small), but that was mostly given to my brothers. I never got it out but would get a good hiding when I got home. I was always trying to get them into trouble with mum by telling on them, I feel bad now! I regularly remember my brothers and I having our pants pulled down and slippered, seemed to be a daily occurrence in our house hold. Hard to believe now, but I suppose it was the norm back then and what you also received at school i.e. home from home. Classmates also seemed to get the same at home. How things have changed! We?ve all turned out well so it hasn?t had much effect on us! We never saw it as abuse. I think my Mum and Dad were good parents.

[FoxtrotFoxtrotSierra]

My mother was another "wait until your father gets home" type, so we'd wait for hours after the original "crime" to be punished. Daddy would smack us on the bum or the hand with his hand. Being smacked on the hand was horrid, you weren't to flinch as if you did you'd be smacked again and again until you kept your hand still to receive the blow (really, really hard by the way). We would be smacked for smacking our siblings....

I don't have DC but would never play good parent/bad parent or smack them. It's ridiculous. How can anyone teach violence is bad if they use it as an example? I also have been thinking of late that we teach young people that their body is their own and nobody is allowed to touch it without their permission - which falls down on this (remembers being marched by the scruff of the neck at the age of 15 because I didn't see my father's car).

[Mosman]

We got the belt once for talking and not going to sleep.
I often wonder if when they are old and making mistakes, not doing what I want if they'll mind me whipping my belt out and hit them with it not that I could actually do it but I look at my child of a similar age and it makes me very sad to think anyone could do that to another person.

[zcos]

I still remember my mum who only smacked us on very rare occasions smaking my sister when she was about 3 as she had run across the road and was almost hit by a car. I think it was partly heat of the moment she almost got hit by a car and mother trying to literally drum it into her! I don't want to smack and worried about whether my mum will think its ok when dd is older if she does anything quite so dramatic as my sister did. I can say I won't smack its easy now as dd is a baby!

[RedJeans]

Although I agree it seems an unreasonable reaction when you compare smacking a child to smacking an adult, you have to remember that there's probably very few 'discipline' methods that you would use on an adult in the same way as you would with a child. No you wouldn't smack an adult for doing something wrong, but equally you probably wouldn't send them to sit in a corner alone or take privileges away or tell them off in the same way as you would to a child. Its a completely different scenario so I dont think its helpful to compare the two
although i'm one of the "an occasional smack didn't do me any harm" group so maybe my opinion is too biased for some people to take notice of! my parents have been completely loving to me in every way and I think this one discipline method doesn't change that at all. I think it really really depends on the context of the smack as to whether it does psychological or physical harm or not. I don't think smacking automatically makes you a bad or unkind parent, but if you already are one then maybe you are more likely to smack

[Iggly]

I agree with seeker.

[DayToDayShit]

whatever was to hand when we were rude to the p's.

We laugh about it now.

[GobblersSparklyExplodingKnob]

I wasn't ever hit by my parents and would never hit my children.

I don't really use any kind of 'discipline' I don't think it works.

[matana]

I'm actually quite gobsmacked by these responses. I grew up in the 70s/80s and grew up thinking that not getting hit was the norm. Dad never smacked us, ever. Mum smacked my bum twice and was eternally remorseful as she did it in anger. But using spoons and belts? That's horrific and I fail to see how that could ever be considered normal. That's about inflicting as much pain as possible, not a short, sharp shock.

[exoticfruits]

I grew up before the 70s and was never smacked. It has never seemed reasonable to me.

[AngelDog]

My parents smacked us with a hand on the bum, calnly and never in anger. It was for disobedience with fair warning & was always explained it was because they loved us & was for our good. I don't think it did me any harm. I wish I could be as calm when my 3 y.o. misbehaves.

[AFingerofFudge]

I grew up in the 70'sand me and my brother were smacked quite often. Sometimes it was with their hands, like a real slap across the bum or legs, but mostly they had this stick which sat in the corner of the room like some permanent reminder of what would happen if we misbehaved.
It was yellow plastic strip from a road for a toy car and it had two sticking out grooves on each side of the strip.
It feckin hurt and it would be hard enough to leave two red lines across the legs.
I remember going swimming with school once and one of my friends pointing at my legs and saying "you must have been really naughty last night".
But it was the norm and no-one ever seemed to bat an eyelid if I appeared at school with bruises or marks. And I didn't think it odd either

[BertieBotts]

Interesting first post

[LynetteScavo]

AFingerofFudge if I put a piece of plastic like that in the corner of the room to hit my DC with, my DC would just get it and throw it in the bin.

And I would go back to MNetting.

I was smacked by both my parents (youngest of four DC by 8 years). I was shocked to find out as an adult my siblings weren't smacked! I must have just been really naughty!

When I was 15 my DF smaked me round the face (not sure what for, but it could't have been that bad, as I was a pretty square teenager). I said "You must really hate me to hit me like that. But I hate you more."

I chose my DH on the bases that he seemed like someone who would never hit his DC. I was right. He's a right softie who should use a bit more discipline at times.

Did being smacked do me any harm? No, it did me some good, as I learned it's not the way to discipline a child.

In 20 years my DC will probably say the same thing about shouting.

[AFingerofFudge]

Did being smacked do me any harm? No, it did me some good, as I learned it's not the way to discipline a child

Yes Lynette I agree- I have never hit any of my kids and would never dream of it!

[matana]

It would break my heart to smack my DS in anger. I have come close maybe twice and realised that once you smack you have lost your self control through anger, which is pretty frightening actually. DS is still a baby really (2.2) and doesn't know 'naughty' only 'exploration' though he pushes all my buttons sometimes. But even when he's older i would consider it a failure on my part to smack him. As i said, i have come close: i leave the room, close the door, gather my strength for five mins (even if he's screaming) and return in a more constructive frame of mind.

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

LynetteSchavo yep.

Why do you ask, austinsman gingerw74?

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

Sorry, meant BetrieBotts not Lynette

[Sabriel]

I was born in the 1960s. We were smacked by both parents, but only with hands and only across the bum/ back of the legs. Worse than the smacking was the shouting and the criticism.

We used to get The Look, and if we were out or had visitors we would dread the closing of the front door/ car door because all hell would let loose.

Our eldest 4 children were born in the 1980s and we smacked them. It wasn't unusual and all the mums I knew did the same. By the time DC5 came along it was no longer the done thing so we didn't smack her. But we didn't know what to do instead (I hate the 'naughty step') so we basically didn't do anything but shout. She is the most badly behaved of all 5 of our children, so I'm thinking now we should have stuck to what we knew. It worked.

[Startail]

I was smacked if I was cheeky and pushed it. DDad would only take so much.

Never minded much. Way preferred a quick slap to a long lecture or some other prolonged punishment.

I can't conceive my dad grounding me, he never ever stayed cross long enough to remember.

Suited me just fine, I also have quick temper and no patience with people who sulk.

I can conceive of taking laptops or phones of my two, or stopping them doing something.

I yell and send them to their rooms, but I sure as hell don't want them feeling resentful for days.

DD2 is like an Elephant she never forgets. No way would you punish her except by packing her off to calm down.

[meddie]

Oh my mum could do 'THE LOOK' you knew what was coming if you failed to comply with that.
You got the ook, then verbal warning that if you continued you wouldget asmack, then you got the smack.
I preferred the smack to the half hour long lectures on why I had been bad tbh

But oh god that LOOK scary wide eyed stuff could stop me in my tracks.

[Corygal]

Dad never hit, but he never did any parenting either. Mum used to wake me up beating me with a hairbrush.

[TiddlyOmPomPom]

My dad was a spanker, his favourite line was "I'm going to spank you so hard you won't be able to sit down for a month of Sundays". He never used an implement, but I think smacking a toddler's bottom over and over again until it glows red is pathetic parenting. I detested him for it at the time, and have even less respect for him now. I'm actually glad we left, I doubt his parenting skills would have coped well with stroppy teenage girls!

My mother didn't need to hit us, she could keep us in line with other methods, The Look etc...
She has slapped me twice tho, when she was absolutely at the end of her tether, but frankly I was a horrid teen and deserved it!

[coffeetasteslikeshit]

I was hit with a wooden spoon or slipper, mum used to say that she wasn't wasting her hand on me.
I lost any respect I may of had for her as I got older and realised that hitting small children for making mistakes is not a good idea.

[Indantherene]

Zombie!