I Had To Write The Same Sentence Over And Over As Punishment

Spankings are barbaric. Lines are ridiculous and useless. I don't think it teaches anything except that the one assigning lines is too lazy to think of something from which the kids could actually learn something. For instance, let them read something and write a summary of the story or article to prove they actually understood it. That teaches. That can also improve handwriting.

@Serenitree: I agree about lines and reading, not about spanking!

That's okay. It's just that my parents never hit me or my sister. We learned to respect them and others without being struck. They used the time-out method when we were very young and loss of privileges when we got older. Groundings were for truly bad things, like staying out past our bed time, without calling to say where we were and why we were late. Grounding was a combination of time-out and loss of privileges.

My problem with spankings is that people have different ideas about where spanking stops being a spanking and becomes abuse. I've seen spankings consisting of a couple swats on the bottom with all clothes in place. I've also seen my friend's father "spank" her. Pants off, beating her with the bristle side of a hair brush until she bled. And everything in between. I don't think children should fear the parents.

@Serenitree: Thanks. I quite agree that spanking can sometimes become abuse.

@MartinII: I much preferred a few whacks with a slipper to writing out lines.

@Sharon: I have to admit, though, that when I was a prefect I sometimes gave younger boys lines. Wasn't allowed to do anything else.

Officially all prefects could do was report us but it wasn't unknown for prefects to administer unofficial slipperings.

@Sharon: if you had been reported, would you have been slippered anyway?

@MartinII: Probably, that or caned.

@Sharon: Were you ever slippered by a prefect?

Yes, several times.

@Sharon: Must have been quite good fun to be a prefect in your school!

I suppose it was. ;)