I had just turned seven and was playing at the park with some friends. Our mothers were sitting on benches a few hundred yards away, where they could see us but we were too far to call. Late in the afternoon, a kid came and told me my mother wanted me to come because it […]

Mom was having a tea at 3.30 that spring afternoon. The cook had made wonderful cookies for the occasion and placed them on covered platters in the pantry. The cook then had the afternoon off, and the maid would do the serving while mom poured the tea. I was six, Jeff was five, and my […]

This extract from The American Home (now Better Homes and Gardens) of April 1948 was kindly sent to us by an anonymous contributor. I Believe Children Should Be Spanked! by Jennie P. Bramer I have just spanked one of my young sons, and the peace that has settled over the household encourages me to say a […]

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 brother, I must say usually I was the tormentor and he was the tormentee. After all, he wasn’t allowed to hit me because he was […]

“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 time, and I had been jealous of my little two-year-old sister Sara the whole day. It seemed as though she had been getting all of […]

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. There was nothing more wonderful than feeding him – being allowed to hold his bottle all by myself. I loved it. As he grew older, […]

My siblings and I were spanked frequently as children. We were usually sent to our parents’ bedroom to await our punishment while Mama went out to cut a fresh switch. Once she entered the bedroom with the switch, there was a brief discussion to make sure we knew why we were being spanked. Then we […]