Is the naughty step enough? What did your parents do?

Bambam

We used to get hit with whatever my mother had to hand - broom across the back, hit across the head with a hair brush, kicked, hair pulled when walking past her, punched and then when dad came home from work/got up from bed (he worked shifts) she would tell him how naughty we'd been and we'd be punished all over again but if we cried he would shout in our faces "don't you dare cry" and we had to stand until we were dismissed/sent to bed, trying our best not to let out a sob. What wicked children we must have been.

It's only in the last 18 months that my 2 sisters and myself have talked about our childhood - my younger sister by 5 years used to get 'smacked' not beaten as my older sister and me were but she remembers what happened and mother could never bring herself to beat my younger brother (the only son) that was left to my dad. As a consequence he hates my dad but adores my mother and severely criticises my sister and myself if we dare to have a 'dig' at mother.

We often went to school with bruises/weals & lumps the size of eggs on our heads. If we did that today it would be noted and reported (I work in a school.) I think my mother was extremely lucky being a mother in the 50's/60's don't you?

To see her when her grandchildren started arriving and now great grandchildren makes me sick. They get up to a lot worse than we ever did at their age but her nicey, nicey attitude with them almost verges on encouraging them to misbehave - mind you, mum and dad talk about them behind their backs.

Even today my elderly mother says "you're not too big to get a belting, you know" and smiles. I'm glad she thinks it's amusing but do you know something? I wouldn't put it past her!!

Hate 'washing my dirty linen in public' so to speak, particularly something so emotionally painful but it feels better to let a little bitterness out. I wonder what mother would say/do?:eek:

amus

Bambam wrote: »

Even today my elderly mother says "you're not too big to get a belting, you know" and smiles. I'm glad she thinks it's amusing but do you know something? I wouldn't put it past her!!

Hate 'washing my dirty linen in public' so to speak, particularly something so emotionally painful but it feels better to let a little bitterness out. I wonder what mother would say/do?:eek:

My Mum slapped me across the face a couple of years ago when we were having a screaming argument - my Mum threatened to slap me, I told her if she touched me she would get a slap back. She slaped me across the face, I slapped her back (she was 44 and I was 24 so she wasnt elderly).

We actually get on well to be honest, its just we both have quite bad tempers and it can get out of hand. Not that such behaviour is excusable.

Bambam

amus wrote: »

My Mum slapped me across the face a couple of years ago when we were having a screaming argument - my Mum threatened to slap me, I told her if she touched me she would get a slap back. She slaped me across the face, I slapped her back (she was 44 and I was 24 so she wasnt elderly).

Screaming at my mother? Would never happen, I'm too scared of her! And I can't quite see my mother and me resorting to slapping each other - too old for that :rotfl:

meer53

A withering look from my mum was all that was needed when i was small, i was never smacked but i knew better than to be naughty.

With my 2 kids, i just needed to raise my voice and they knew to stop whatever they were doing. I still do it sometimes with my 11 year old daughter, she knows that if i end up shouting it will all end in tears. My son was completely different, i could reason with him, i rarely had to raise my voice. He's 25 now. My daughter was a bit of a shock !

I think if you can't control your kids, you should try everything you can, kids react differently don't they ? There isn't a "one size fits all" approach really. I find with my daughter that if it gets to the shouting stage, withdrawing things like TV, Phone, Laptop, playing out time, always works best.