Switch used on bare legs

This could perhaps go on the Spanking subforum but strictly speaking is not spanking as sometimes not involving the buttocks.

Back years ago, especially in rural areas,and the South,a common form of punishment for erring youngsters and perhaps adults was a whipping on the bare legs with a switch from a tree or bush. Not only painful at the time it left marks, stripes that would last for some time, for days, and anyone who saw them knew what had happened to the person.

Needless to say after a leg switching,the person had no desire to put on swim trunks or a bathing suit and go to the beach or pool, or to wear shorts or a short skirt.

Can't help but think that back in the late 40s or 50s when short shorts for females became fashionable,and when corporal punishment was more widely used and accepted by society, that some young ladies may have gotten their naked legs well-switched for wearing them And also bikinis when they came out. The desired consequence of course being that stripes on the legs would prevent the girl from wearing shorts in public, be too embarrassing having everyone seeing that she had gotten switched. And very likely same thing could have happened in the 60s when mini- skirts were the rage,kept getting shorter and shorter, and a parent decided on this form of "oldfashioned discipline" as a response to such violation of modesty.

Wondering if anyone had had any experience with legs being switched, whether for scanty attire or anything else.

That would be so embrassing people could tell you have been switched nearly as bad as being publicy spanked obvious you have been well disiplined

When I was growing up, we used to spend our summer vacation at my Aunt and Uncle's house which was at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, a southern state if you ask me. Anyway, my aunt used to discipline her teenage children by switching them on their legs using a fishing pole. She would save he switching until bed time and would come into their room and switch them as they lay in their bed. She would switch both her girls and boys. You could hear them cry themselves to sleep. Thankfully, I never experienced this.

When I was a kid, some family we knew sometimes disciplined kids using nettles. Sometimes (I did not witness it) the mother did it on the bare bottom. But I saw the result on the thighs/legs.

When I was a kid, some family we knew sometimes disciplined kids using nettles. Sometimes (I did not witness it) the mother did it on the bare bottom. But I saw the result on the thighs/legs.

Nettles seem to be something more of a European preference. The things grow almost everywhere, they are nothing but weeds anyway. And I suppose parents could always say that their child fell into the nettles while playing, so no need to cover it up with an excuse. I used to get nettle stings over my legs or arms when young. Not from a punishment, but by going into the woods or abandoned places that were full of weeds.

This reminds there that there used to a well known erotic publishing house between the world wars in Paris called 'les Orties Blanches' - the White Nettles. They specialized in punishment erotica in the main, the nettle reference being obvious to most readers at the time.

Agracier: And no lasting marks, no bruises, and they don't make noise.

Agracier: And no lasting marks, no bruises, and they don't make noise.

And if there is a war, occupation and/or rationing going on, you can always make soup from the nettles afterwards ... so tell me, how versatile can you get? ... ha ha.

I was switched at age 8 with a willow switch by Mom. It stung like a thousand bee stings. I never was late coming home again.

I was switched at age 4 with a switch by an aunt. It stung like the dickens, too. I ran down the street trying to catch my parents as they drove off My aunt caught me and used that switch on my bare legs all the way back to her house. I had on a pair of shorts at the time. Boy did that sting. I was stomping my little legs up and down while running back to the house and she was switching my bare legs all the way back, too. I know she didn't hit all that hard, but to a 4 year old kid it was plenty hard enough.

I got a switching on my bare bottom as an adult, but not my legs. I don't think my legs could take it. It left my bottom all red and bumpy. It is truly a very good punishment, because it's so hard to take. The spanker doesn't even need to hit hard, even an "easy" stroke stings horribly and leaves a welt.

I used to have to go outside and pick my own switch and bring it back into the house and would then be marched into the bathroom and switched on my bare bottom with occasional stray welts on my upper legs and inner thighs.

Here is a more detailed version of my frequent experiences with the switch:

From the time I was very young, maybe 7-years-old, up until the time I was maybe 11 or 12, I was subjected to ritualized bare bottom switching at the hands of my aunt. I was born in 1950 and at that point in time, corporal punishment was very common, and even the baring of one's bottom to receive corporal punishment was not viewed as child abuse in the least. As a matter of fact, many felt that was the way corporal punishment should be administered and viewed humiliation as an equally as important part of the punishment as the actual spanking. This most certainly seemed to be the case with my aunt, who used to punish me at the slightest pretext.

My aunt was often left in charge of me while my mother was away, and she would punish me for the most minor infraction of her rules, and every time the punishment was the same.

Whenever she decided that I needed to be punished I was required to go into my bedroom and remove all my clothes, including my underwear, and put on only my robe and slippers. I was then required to go out into the yard and pick a switch for her to use on me and bring it back into the house to her. I always found this trip out into the yard, dressed only in my robe and slippers, very embarrassing. It seemed to me that invariably the elderly neighbor lady would be working in her yard and witness me traipsing into the yard, head held down, and watch me pick my switch and trudge back into the house. And even though I tried to avoid direct eye contact with her, I would always steal a sideways glance at her and make eye contact long enough to see a sort of knowing victory smile on her face, which would add to my embarrassment.

Once I was back in the house, my aunt would take the switch from me and swish it through the air a few times to make sure it was supple enough for its purpose. At this point, and after seeing her swish the switch through the air, I would be in tears and hysterically begging her not to give me a switching, but she was undeterred and would simply look down at me with pursed lips and then say, “Lets go into the bathroom and get this over with.” We would then proceed into the bathroom where I was required to remove my robe and slippers and bend, totally naked, over the edge of the bathtub with my elbows resting on the inside of the tub. Once I had assumed this position she would give me a cursory lecture on my misdeeds and then start in on me with her switch. Even though I would already be sobbing, I would start to howl almost immediately as she began to work on my bottom with her switch. And if the elder lady that lived next door had any doubts about why I was picking the switch, I am sure her questions were quickly answered because I am sure I was vocal enough that I was easily heard, even outside the house. However, my aunt was undeterred by my protests and methodically worked her way up and down my bottom with her switch. She never struck me on my thighs or back, but she sure worked on my bottom, making several trips up and down my bottom until it was a mass of red welts. By the time she was finished I would be a blubbering mess and be promising the world if she would just stop. After she had decided the job was done she would stand me up and lecture me again and give me a hug and tell me how much she loved me, and how I needed to learn to be good. I was then allowed to go to my room where I would dive into my bed and cry myself to sleep.

At the time this started to happen I felt only pain and embarrassment but as I grew older I began to sexualize the experience. I think I grew up in a very strange family environment dominated by women that paid entirely too much attention to my bottom. I also received frequent enemas as well as spankings and the imprint of these treatments is that I sexualized both.

highndry said

I was switched at age 4 with a switch by an aunt. It stung like the dickens, too. I ran down the street trying to catch my parents as they drove off My aunt caught me and used that switch on my bare legs all the way back to her house. I had on a pair of shorts at the time. Boy did that sting. I was stomping my little legs up and down while running back to the house and she was switching my bare legs all the way back, too. I know she didn't hit all that hard, but to a 4 year old kid it was plenty hard enough.

Isn't that rather abusive to do that to a four year old?

A spanking is appropriate for that offense. Even I was spanked for running into the street when I was three years old, but a switch just seems overly harsh punishment.

These are all good responses. Did any of the punishments ever include having your mouth washed out? Did you have to pick out a certain size switch, like was their a requirement?

I have never been switched, but I watched my grandma as a kid one time, go to work on my brother;s bare bottom and legs and never once did he do what he did again.

Isn't that rather abusive to do that to a four year old?

A spanking is appropriate for that offense.

Agreed @SwitchableSusie , age makes a big difference. A four-year-old isn't able to distinguish right from wrong, like an eight-year-old. That seems a little harsh

My Grandmother used to switch me on my bare legs when I was little and my did it once when I did wrong.

SwitchableSusie said:

highndry said

I was switched at age 4 with a switch by an aunt. It stung like the dickens, too. I ran down the street trying to catch my parents as they drove off My aunt caught me and used that switch on my bare legs all the way back to her house. I had on a pair of shorts at the time. Boy did that sting. I was stomping my little legs up and down while running back to the house and she was switching my bare legs all the way back, too. I know she didn't hit all that hard, but to a 4 year old kid it was plenty hard enough.

"Isn't that rather abusive to do that to a four year old?

A spanking is appropriate for that offense. Even I was spanked for running into the street when I was three years old, but a switch just seems overly harsh punishment."

I have to disagree with you on this. My aunt probably didn't switch my bare legs more than a dozen times and she didn't hit that hard either. My aunt also had severe arthritis in her hands and shoulders, so picking me up and carrying me back to her house was really out of the question for her. Plus giving me an OTK spanking with her hand was also out of the question. If she did give me a spanking she would have had to put me across her knees, hold me down and use a implement such as a hairbrush, a ruler, or wooden spoon to spank me, Honestly, my mother didn't use wooden spoons for cooking and neither did any of my aunts that I ever saw in all of the years I knew them. So in this instance the switching was the best option for her. There were not a lot of treatments for arthritis in the late 1940s so she endured a lot of pain at times.

I was switched at age 4 with a switch by an aunt. It stung like the dickens, too. I ran down the street trying to catch my parents as they drove off

Sounds like she used to be a Spanish goat-herder in a previous incarnation. Madre de dios, switching a kid who doesn't want to see his parents leave him behind. Yeah, naughty as can be ... 😢

My mom spanked me mostly with the belt, but sometimes I received the switch too.

I really hated the switch. The stinging from a switching was close to a burning sensation. I was never able to stay in one place or one position to receive the whole spanking, so, I had always try to escape somehow during my correction. Many times I jumped in circles crying around my mom who was holding me by one hand while with her other hand spanked me really fast on my bare bottom.

Because my mom always focused on the lower part (the base) of my bottom (avoided in this way to hurt my back), sometimes, because of my energic moves, the switch had landed on my bare legs up to the back of my knees, resulting blistered welts like on my bottom, who persisted even a few days after...

It was really embarrassing for me to be sow with that spanking evidences, especially during the summer when I had only short pants in my wardrobe and inside our home I was wearing mostly just underpants or JUST an oversized T-shirt.

P.E or swimming class on school was never finished at least once without to be teased by a few of my classmates or even the instructor....

I was switched at age 4 with a switch by an aunt. It stung like the dickens, too. I ran down the street trying to catch my parents as they drove off My aunt caught me and used that switch on my bare legs all the way back to her house. I had on a pair of shorts at the time. Boy did that sting. I was stomping my little legs up and down while running back to the house and she was switching my bare legs all the way back, too. I know she didn't hit all that hard, but to a 4 year old kid it was plenty hard enough.

No wonder you chased after your parents...you didn't want to stay with that woman. What a lack of compassion for a child who didn't want their parents to leave.

I noticed highndry is 70, I'm 72. In the early fifties that would have been a little (just a small little) severe. I remember once, in particular, sitting on my porch watching a neighbor holding their child (who probably in the 4-6 age range) by one wrist. And in the other hand she had a doubled over belt. And about every third of fourth step she cracked the little girl across her bottom with the strap. In the time from where she got the girl to her home, she probably got 20 or so smacks. I sure she got some more once in the house. Corporal punishment was common then and by modern standards severe. Most adults would have probably thought at that time she got what she deserved. And that was not the only time I saw some kid getting spanked on the way somewhere.

It seems like the pendulum always goes to extremes. Either people were harsh, or now, they are so lenient. There has to be a middle ground! A lot of parents nowadays let the child run the house. Everything is centered around them. It seems like kids a long time ago were more well behaved, even if they weren't punished harshly, because it was expected of them. Now, children in public and on planes are just a nuisance, because their parents don't teach them to respect other people, and perhaps that IS how the parents are.

A lot of parents nowadays let the child run the house. Everything is centered around them. It seems like kids a long time ago were more well behaved, even if they weren't punished harshly, because it was expected of them. Now, children in public and on planes are just a nuisance, because their parents don't teach them to respect other people, and perhaps that IS how the parents are.

I really have to wonder about such statements. In all honesty, I have never seen children/youngsters act like that in any European country I've been to. That is simply not my experience. And I have resided for long periods in countries other than my own. Over some 4 decades my wife and I have been on trips and long stays in Spain, France, Austria, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and then some and children having public tantrums is not part of what one sees in the public sphere. It is considered bad manners and reflects very poorly on the parents as well. And I am talking about what some people call 'immigrant' children as well, Moroccan or Turk.

And in all honesty, on my last visit to the USA (a month in 1993) I did not see anything like that either.

Yes, familiar with the switch. However, I think using it on young children, like 4 year olds, is too harsh.

I grew up with spanking as discipline and raised a couple daughters the same way. But I never used anything but my hand when they were that young, and neither did my own mother.

But for older children, especially teenagers, the switch is a very effective implement, especially when applied to the bare legs, as the original post pointed out. And as was implied, especially attention-getting in warm weather months when less in the way of clothing is often worn.

I have 2 daughters, and on a couple occasions used the switch. One time, they were like 13 and 14 and had been acting up near the end of the school year and I had grounded them, no going out.

On the last day of school they came, put on their swimsuits and announced they were going to the city pool. I told them they were grounded and were not going anywhere.

Being teen girls of that age they got mouthy and gave me some backtalk. When I told them to go to their room they disobeyed and kept arguing.

I decided it was time for drastic action. I go out and cut a switch from a forsythia bush and both girls find themselves dancing around in their bathing suits getting a good switching on their naked legs.

Needless to say that ended all desire to go out in public wearing a bathing suit and taught a lesson about being respectful to one's mother. They had gotten the idea in their heads it would seem that being teenagers they were too old for a licking!

Oh yes, I furthet reinforced my message by stinging the thin seats of their suits with the paddle, so they had burning bottoms as well as legs.

Momjoanne

I to remembered once thinking a teenager was to old for a licking. I quickly found out at 13 I wasn’t and learned after that at any teenage years is not to old. If I needed I got it.

Had switching on bare legs and bare bottom . The bottom switching generally was not as long as the legs due to it's severity and pain. Willow and Hickory switches were what I endured and they were definitely no different than having a whip administered for punishment . I remember hearing them cut the air coming in and returning back. These were generally administered by my grandmother although I had the threat of it on occasions from aunt's/uncles. Don't remember father using them he preferred the hand and doubled folded leather belt. Reminiscing now about this I would say I would now prefer my father's method because those switches sure felt like each strike was a razor slice to the flesh followed by alcohol application due to their lengthy stinging. Fretter

I am a 1940 kid and my worst memories are my Mother's words, "just you wait until your father comes home".My mother was an athlete and if we (my brother and I) swore, Mum would chase us, catch us and scrub our teeth with a cake of soap to 'clean our mouthes out'. IF we did anything worse than that, we were under threat that we would be punished by Dad. That meant a double folded 2" wide belt or he would go and cut a switch out of one of the many pear trees and we would get 'that' around our backsides or on our legs. No some of my best memories. They have both 'gone' 22 years ago, but I can remember saying to Dad as he was dying, "I love you Dad" to which his reply was, "yes, we have been good mates haven't we?" regards, irrigator333.

Corporal punishment was simply par for the course growing up in the 60's & 70's, in a rural North American southwestern ranching community.

My sisters and I, and our friends/classmates, grew up receiving necessary “correction” (spankings) from our parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, older siblings, babysitters, teachers/coaches/principals (elementary, junior high school and high school), Sunday School teachers, youth pastors, senior pastors, friends' parents, etc.

One or two swift warning swat(s) to the seat of the pants/skirt were sometimes given with an open palm, but when a “proper” spanking was called for, implements were used and bottoms were almost always bare (occasionally underpants/panties stayed up, when modesty was called for, but naughty boys/girls were usually not afforded any modesty).

The implements and rituals varied, depending upon disciplinarians' preferences, the age of the naughty boy/girl, the severity of the misbehavior, etc. For example, most mothers seemed to prefer using a hairbrush, bathbrush, and/or a switch. Most fathers seemed to prefer using a carpenters' ruler (straight edge), a leather strap/strop, and/or a switch. Teachers seemed to prefer using a carpenters' ruler and/or a switch. Coaches seemed to prefer Texas-style school paddles. And, pastors seemed to prefer switches.

Interestly, it seemed that a stiff-but-flexible switch was the one implement that all disciplinarians (except coaches) had in their toolkit.

I remember hearing stories of the thrashings that my grandparents received (from my great grandparents and others). I also remember the stories of the thrashings that my parents received. I remember my butt, my being set on fire with a switch on many occasions. And, I witnessed my sisters, cousins, and friends/classmates receiving stripes across their bare bottoms on many occasions.

I raised two sons and a daughter, and they had to fetch a switch when they deserved strict discipline. Now, my children are having kids (my grandchildren), and sadly it will no longer be possible to utilize proper corporal punishment (spankings) in the ways that it has been lovingly and effectively used for so many generations. My grandchildren do receive a swat or two from mom and/or dad, which is still legal. But someday, when one them will inevitably deserve to have their butt tanned with a strap or thashed with a switch, it won't be possible, because even a carefully and lovingly tanned and/or striped bottom might land mom and/or dad in jail. My kids are NOT happy about spanking being taboo now-a-days. They know that properly administered traditional discipline has been very effective in raising generations of successful well-adjusted families.

I never saw or heard of this growing up. Spanking was just not used in my house back then. But, I did have a girlfriend at one time who would cut a switch from a willow tree and whip my bare backside. Yes, it left welts that lasted a day or two and hurt like hell

Something about the phrase “being switched” or “getting switched” fascinated me when I was young. I remember a friend asking me if I had ever been switched and I did not know what he was talking about at the time…