Spanking paddle hanging on the wall.

I don't know whether my in-laws were a typical US family. My mother-in-law got the hairbrush as a kid, and the "nice" thing about a hairbrush is that it does not attract attention as an implement design explicitly for spanking would do. So such a hairbrush could be stored in the open.

Some people in my own family owned martinets but these were, from what I recall, stored in closets and not openly displayed. Some people mention martinets hung from a hook in the kitchen (these implements do have a hole for hanging them) but I've never seen that.

You would think that no parent would be kinky or nutty enough to do that, but I remember two instances of that that really shocked me. Dobson, the religious guru for Focus on the Family, suggested in one of his books that parents should hang a belt in each of the major rooms of the house to remind the kids what would happen if they disobeyed or talked back. I grew up in a small town where whippings and even a razor strapping or two took place, but that advice would have been considered over the top even there.

I would be curious if even evangelical parents wouldn't think that was weird. The other time I remember running into this was, when I was a teen, in the park service gift shop at the top of trail ridge road in Rocky Mnt Nat'l Park, of all places. One of their cedar souvenir type curios was a 1/2 inch thick paddle, about 2/3s the size of a cricket bat, that was painted and obviously meant to be hung on the wall, with the inscription "never spank a child in the face..etc." and a drawing of two relatively small children bent over and obviously having just been paddled. I couldn't believe I was seeing this in a national park.

This thing could have passed for a lethal weapon and I hope no one really thought it should actually be used. I showed it to a girl I was traveling with and it obviously really ticked her off. When we got outside she told me that it was really unfair that boys got to wear so much more: in the drawing the boy was bent over wearing bib overalls and the girl was bent over with her underpants showing. I couldn't believe that that was what she thought was the major problem, but it was obviously a major grievance from her own childhood. I guess one advantage of the traditional spankings is that the clothing issue was completely equal.

Hi Walt,

Similar experience about the paddles for sale. I remember as a kid in the 70s going to Geauga Lake amusement park (northeast Ohio) AND Six Flags over Georgia amusement park and seeing paddles for sale with similar drawings on them.

Walt----I have seen those cedar paddles everywhere back then----state parks, Disney world, truck stops, a lot of them said "board of education for unruly children" with pictures of turned over kids on them-----I bet even today, there are gift shops still carrying them. I think the last one I saw was in a gift shop on highway 75 in Florida, maybe a year ago.

I too saw those spanking paddles everywhere when growing up back in the 60's and 70's. Homes, gift shops, ordinary stores, even in an hotel room in which we once stayed, they seemed to be everywhere; which I suppose is not surprising when considering the culture and attitudes of the times, whereby spanking enjoyed enormous social approval!

I went to my manager's house for dinner once when I was very young and naive (twenties) and he and his wife gave me a tour of their home. They had a lot of art and things from their travels displayed. I noticed a very intricately carved object hanging on the wall of their bedroom. Trying to appear interested, I asked, "What is that?". Just as it occurred to my brain that it was clearly a paddle. They both smiled at me and each other and he said, "Oh just a little toy we bought." I was beet red in the face and looked away. Nothing else was ever said about it that evening. But every time I saw his wife at a work function I imagined and wondered about her very round bare bottom being spanked.

I too saw those spanking paddles everywhere when growing up back in the 60's and 70's. Homes, gift shops, ordinary stores, even in an hotel room in which we once stayed, they seemed to be everywhere; which I suppose is not surprising when considering the culture and attitudes of the times, whereby spanking enjoyed enormous social approval!

I grew up in the US in the 50s and 60s and cannot ever remember seeing paddles for sale anywhere, something my mother would have criticized as uncivilized, if only to annoy my father, who might probably have approved. I'm talking about New York and New Jersey here, granted a somewhat different area from other parts of the US ... but still.

What part of the US are you referring to?

The South mainly!

The South mainly!

I have heard it said that spanking is prevalent in many BIBLE-BELT areas.

I have heard it said that spanking is prevalent in many BIBLE-BELT areas.

That would have been my first thought too. But then again, hasn't the traditional Bible Belt sort of metastasized all over the place in the US now, with maybe exceptions around New York, New England and the West Coast?

I saw lots of those paddles for sale in tourist souvenir outlets in Kentucky and Tennessee when I toured there in the eighties. Then when I got home to the UK I noticed one hung up in the kitchen of a family I had got to know with the inscription Fanny Whacker. Drawings and a poem on it including "For swatting flies and bottoms bare". There's plenty photos of these online and you see them selling as vintage spanking paddles on Ebay.

agracier said

I grew up in the US in the 50s and 60s and cannot ever remember seeing paddles for sale anywhere, something my mother would have criticized as uncivilized, if only to annoy my father, who might probably have approved. I'm talking about New York and New Jersey here, granted a somewhat different area from other parts of the US ... but still.

What part of the US are you referring to?

I'm a whole lot younger than agracier 😁 😁 😁 but I never saw paddle in anybody's house either. I have seen the "boards of education" for sale but never saw one that was displayed in a house or one that was actually to be used on the children.

My first experience of hearing about paddles on children was here on Zity.Biz years ago. The only exception is fraternity paddles in college.

Susie: It was not so long ago that paddling was still legal and applied in secondary education in many US states (and may still be now), right? Where did the schools buy their paddles? Or did they just keep the same from decades ago?

NONE of the school districts I ever heard of in New York had paddles, caning or spanking with or without pants on.

NONE of the school districts I ever heard of in New York had paddles, caning or spanking with or without pants on.

And the same goes for New Jersey in my experience from an even earlier time. And I changed, or rather my mother changed me from school to school so often I got a pretty good sampling of both public and Catholic schools. Nor did I ever hear about it from other children or through things grown-ups might have said or alluded to.

I grew up and went to New Jersey schools in the innocently assumed knowledge that pupils simply weren't spanked, hit or physically punished in any school at all. Catholic schools had enough ways of making you miserable and for punishing as was anyway. No need to add anything corporeal like spanking or caning. Now I'm not saying that nuns never got temperamental or lost control of themselves. They did at times, but it was not school policy and I'm guessing could have gotten them into trouble if parents had complained. I once got an undeserved slap right in the kisser from a nun while being lectured in front of the class. And even though young as I was, I could tell she knew she had gone too far from the look on her face. I never told my parents since I was a sneaky kid in a way anyway. The less meddling of parents in school, the better was my motto. And anyway, big deal. At least it showed the class I wasn't the goody-goody many assumed ... ha ha

When I was divorced, and my ex remarried, unfortunately my wife had custody, which was fine, but the man she married was an utter swine, God alone knows why she did it. She thought she wanted to be told what to do, but when it happened she found she didnt like it at all. One time when I picked the children up to stay with me, he pointed to a paddle on the wall in case the children were naughty.

I told him bluntly that if he ever touched my children there would be hell to pay. My ex, their mother, could discipline the children if necessary but I would kill him if he so much as laid a finger on them. It was not good for relations I can tell you. When my daughter was older, he developed a very unhealthy interest in her, but fortunately my ex by then had come to her senses and left him, taking the children.

We did occasionally discipline, but only with the hand. I spanked my daughter so hard one time because she ran across the road, having been forbidden to even go to the road, but I hurt her a lot, and my hand and it upset me so much that I never ever disciplined (or had to) her again. A raised eyebrow was enough.

My wife was in a sorority in college and has her paddle hanging in the living room. Guests don't realize, when it gets to dusty, she doesn't just dust it off, she dusts it off. She strips me and bends me over the back of the couch, takes it down (it's no more than 10' away) and lets it fly. At 1 dinner party we had, she gave me a look and as the last guest left I was over the back of the couch and she dusted away.

There was a strap up on the top of the fridge It wasn't something that was used on me as my Dad felt his hands worked good which they did but it was there as a reminder if I was misbehaved my bum would be hurting.

It was on my moms dresser growing up. but now wiht my ab daddy, it hangs on the wall in in the living room for all to see with my name on it

Desi does your Dad punish you in front of others? With it being so prominently displayed I am just curious.

I grew up just with my mother and I was never spanked that time but in the kitchen on the wall was heavy leather belt and cat o'nine. For me was just enough mention about spanking using those implements and I couldn't stop to cry. I was very scared to be spanked on bare butt. My first one was on my 18 birthday and I discovered how sexy is that ....and so far I did not change my mind.

It wasn't the paddle, the carpet beater was hanging in the box room or sometimes on the coat rack...

In our house they hung on our walls in our bedroom. Supposedly, to remind us, even when they were not being used, to behave ourselves!

hasn't the traditional Bible Belt sort of metastasized all over the place in the US now, with maybe exceptions around New York, New England and the West Coast?

Not really. The Midwest is still quite distinct. Paddling is still only really supported in schools in the rural South East, which largely corresponds to the bible belt as well. Places like South Texas where I used to live are solidly Catholic in a cultural sense with Spanish names, not really bible belt, although there are certainly many influences from it. I certainly recall few to no paddles on the wall, although spanking was certainly accepted among locals and some neighbors. But, I was in a city. The small town homes might be different, just like the small town schools are.

I don't remember where my parents kept the paddle (It was one of those balls attached to a rubber band to a paddle with the ball and rubber band removed). It just showed up when it was needed. If they didn't use the paddle a hand, a stick, or a belt would do just fine.

Concerning paddles being used in schools. While in junior high, late 70's, there was a paddle hanging in the junior high principals office. It was used on those who were repeat and often offenders. I remember hearing a few boys getting themselves in trouble.

I remember a wooden spoon that had a particular spot on a shelf, as well as a hook on the side of the dresser for the paddle.

My Mother did not use a paddle, I think that is a US thing and I live in the UK, but she would spank both my sister and I with the wooden back of a bath brush. It used to really hurt like a crazy! If she ever thought we were getting out of hand she would bring the bath brush to wherever we were and just leave it there, it did the trick! Neither of us wanted that thing cracking down on our bare bottoms for sure

My mom had a paddle but it was always on top of the refrigerator. If my sister or I was in trouble we had to fetch the paddle an hand it to her then lay across her lap. She always started with her hand on our pantie covered backside, but once our undies were pulled down we felt the full force of the paddle on both cheeks and upper thighs.

Mom always kept her oversized ping pong paddle in the kitchen junk drawer. Unseen, but always available!

I realize that the question related to our parents and I answered it accordingly. However, when I moved out of their home, I got a job in southern NJ. My best friend, Jamie's parents had their shore home near the Atlantic Ocean, so it was perfect for both of us, who worked in the area. Jamie's parents moved to Florida and gave her their beach house with the proviso that I was to keep her from smoking. They admired my conservative ways, I guess. Jamie and I soon drew up a list of house rules and even found a 30 inch long-4 inch wide oar paddle to enforce any violations. It hung in the hallway, in full view of everyone. Funny thing, nobody ever asked if it was ever used for paddling, unless we told them.