Spanking in the 1970's

Unfortunately, though, because my brother was only five when I left home and I had spanked him several times when he was in my care, I learned later that his memories of me were few and involved my spanking him. Unintended consequences, to be sure; that may have contributed to the fact that we have no relationship now, and that saddens me.

What else would you expect from hitting a far younger and (at that age) helpless child? What in the world can a child younger than 5 years ever really do that warrants physical punishment?

If I had ever hit or spanked my younger siblings, there have been hell to pay for my actions. It was drilled in to us that the older ones protected and guarded the younger ones, no matter what.

Now it did happen that the younger ones took advantage of that household principle so much that at times I would have gladly strangled them (ha ha). But that is a different story.

In the 1970s I was in my mid to late teens, and being the baby of the family { I had two older brothers } I was still getting spanked. Just like growing up all my spankings were done on my Naughty Bottom. And with two older brothers teasing me I was out to get them which always ended up with me over my step dad's or mothers lap. It was very embarrassig since it didn't matter who was in the house. so I was spanked in front of my brothers and their girlfriends, my aunt and uncle or cousin, or one of my friends who I was playing with. All spankings were done on the spot. Didn't matter if we were in a store or in the mall. It was the way things were for me.

Didn't matter if we were in a store or in the mall. It was the way things were for me.

@DST spanking in a store or a mall sounds crazy. Why wouldn’t your parents delay punishment until you are back at home?

My parents never spanked me in public, they were the “Just you wait till we get home” type.

Caning was so common at my school. Didn't see any spanking.

Caning was common in my old school but I didn't get it myself. I was often spanked with a plimsoll for persistently refusing to participate in PE/games. I never had more than six smacks at a time, and it was always over the seat of my trousers. I used to say to the other lads that it didn't hurt, not so much to try to appear tougher than I really was but because it was nothing compared with what I used to get at home (a couple of dozen with my dad's leather slipper on my bare bottom).

The cane was used at my school, and I received it about 4 times. Spanking was a lot more common, together with being slippered or whacked with a plimsoll.

@DST spanking in a store or a mall sounds crazy. Why wouldn’t your parents delay punishment until you are back at home?

There have been enough accounts told of instances of public spanking. And about the approving looks from spectators watching the spanking.

I get the impression that it was either the spankers losing self-control and being short-tempered, or as a way of virtue signaling to the outside world: I am a hard-ass parent and won't take any sass from kids (or anyone else presumably). It's a way of swaggering and showing off in some cases, of being the toughest guy on the block or signaling their belief in traditional, old-fashioned values.

In some communities, this kind of attitude will be admired. 😢

Spanking in the 1970's

Actually, don't remember spanking taking place outside by then. I do remember spankings taking place outside in the early 1950's - when it seemed any adult; especially if a parent, could take it upon themselves to spank any of us whom they deemed had gotten out-of-line. Somewhere here I told of a man in our neighborhood who got carted off or locked up for spanking too many, too many times. He was not married, and that made what he was doing more suspicious - parents seemed to have had some sort of universal authority right to spank.

@agracier More than. anything else it was I am the Bad Ass on the block and I will do as I please to raise my children the way I want To so if they misbehave in the Mall I will find a family friendly rest room and take them in and pull their pants and undies down and spank their naugty bare bottom to let them know that they were naughty and not to do it again while we were there. Some other parents did raise and eyebrow about what they heard, but nothing was said.The important thing was we knew our limits and if we pushed them we knew what was going to happen.

PE teachers were the worst for corporal punishment at my 1970s/early 1980s secondary schools in Scotland. One PE teacher was an ex-army drill instructor.

I got my thighs slapped hard repeatedly for being unable to judge the distance to a vaulting trampette.

There was no way I could judge the distance due to an eye defect.

There was the belt (Lochgelly tawse) on hands and slipper (large rubber soled gym shoe) on clothed legs and buttocks for both boys and girls. Sometimes as a class punishment other times individual or group.

Girls were never physically punished individually or as a small group in class itself, only as part of a whole class punishment.

Individual or groups of girls were taken out in the hallway (door open hear the screams) or to teachers or headmasters office.

Boys were always punished individually front of the class as a deterrent.

I was not spanked myself. However spanking was still fairly common, and the martinet (a short flogger) was still in use.

Corporal punishment was not allowed in French public schools.