I was never very good at spelling – and that lack of ability led to my first and only school paddling, back in the 1980s. I was in second grade at a school in Atlanta, Georgia, when one day our class teacher, Miss Harvey, announced the spelling test out of the blue. We would be […]
Smacked bottom games
During the 1970s, when I was growing up, a smacked bottom was such a routine punishment for a naughty youngster that we children regularly included corporal punishment in our games, particularly playing ‘house’ or ‘school’. Despite the profusion of such stories on your website, I believe the number of kids who actually got smacked on […]
Sweet – and bitter
One morning, as he came out of the shower, my son was startled to find me sitting cross-legged on the edge of his bed. He approached me nervously, realising by the look on my face that something was wrong, and stood by my side. I narrowed my gaze on him and showed him the candy […]
A Stepmothers Wooden Spoon
Please Click Here to Listen to the Audio Recording My mother had been gone for about two years. It was at this time my father was just starting to date the woman who would become my stepmother about a year later. My father knew I needed to be around other women as much as I […]
Memories of the stick
I was fortunate growing up to have a large contingent of extended family living in the same neighbourhood. My mom’s sister lived just a couple of blocks from us, in a house on a large lot in a cul-de-sac that backed up to woods. There were six kids living there at the time this took place […]
Between the aisles
Editor’s note: This contribution was originally emailed to Maman in 2002. I know that in this permissive day and age, many of your readers might think spanking of children is dying out or indeed entirely extinct. However, I can vouch to the contrary. I was in my local branch of Tesco the other day and […]
Moms Spoon
Please Click Here to listen to the Audio Recording Considering it hurt so much at the time, you may think it odd that I remember my mom’s spanking spoon with such affection. However, it taught me and my siblings a great deal about morals and love. Mom had many spoons in her kitchen which were […]