Both of my parents, especially my Mother, were lovely and broadminded – but they also believed that a stern punishment should be handed out when necessary.
They felt it was necessary quite often, so my siblings and I were quite experienced in getting a sore bottom from Mother or Dad. Some I forgot after my bottom cheeks cooled down; some I remember even now.
One of the most memorable ones was on one of the first warm spring days, just a week after my birthday. My mother decided that it was necessary for me to have new clothes for school. So instead of playing outside with my friends, I had to go with my mother, my sister and my brother to town. I was very annoyed and it was a very long and stressful procedure to find new trousers for me, because I hated nearly everything I tried on.
When we finally found some, I had to watch my younger brother while Mother looked for some clothes for Ann or herself. When I was far enough away, I sent Tommy back to my Mother and went my own way, looking around in other departments of the shop.
It took a long time until they where ready, but when they were ready they had to search for me. Then I was in trouble. When Mother found me, I was scolded for not watching Tommy and causing trouble.
Then she said those familiar words: “I think your bottom needs a good tanning, Peter.” Although I was very ashamed to be scolded like this in public, I felt also guilty and tried my best to apologise and cool Mother down. Eventually she said: “OK – but this is the last warning!”
I was relieved – but I got in a bad mood again when Mother announced that before going home, we would have to go into the town’s biggest food store. None of us three children wanted to go there – we wanted to play outside. But Mother wouldn’t change her mind.
Anyway, all three of us started to fool around. Ann and I had more and more fun, and Tommy enjoyed it too. Mother shouted a few times at us not to be so silly, but this cooled us down only a little bit.
Then, the catastrophe happened. I pushed Ann and she pushed back. I pushed her again, Tommy laughed and then Ann pushed Tommy and he crashed into a pyramid of boxes or parcels. With a great crash, they fell down.
Mother grabbed us, shouting: “That’s enough!” Staff and customers began to gather around. I don’t remember the conversation between Mother and the shop staff – but I do remember the words she spoke when she turned to us.
“We’re going home straight away and there all three of you can be sure of a good hiding and a really tanned bottom.”
I was so ashamed at that moment! Just opposite me stood a boy my age with an awful grinning face. On the way out to the car, I started trying to cool Mother down again, telling her that it wasn’t my fault and that there was no reason for giving me a spanking. Mother said nothing and walked straight back to the car, with Ann and I still trying to get her attention.
When we reached the car, she turned to us with a very angry and stern face and said: “I won’t hear another word from you – until we get home.” Then she turned to me and shouted: “And especially you! Shut up and be absolutely quiet! You are the one who started all this!”
Of course, I was quiet when I saw how angry she was. But riding back in the car, I got very angry at the thought that again, it was me who was responsible for everything just because I was the oldest.
Presently my anger displaced the fear, and I resolved that I would not get a thrashing at home So I sat there in the car, quiet and full of anger beside my sobbing sister while we drove home.
Once there, Mother marched us straight into the house and ordered us into the kitchen. Still I hung in the doorway, arguing. Then, to my utter surprise, I got a slap in the face. Now my tears flowed – not through the pain of my burning cheek; it was my anger and rage which made me cry.
In the kitchen, we had to line up on one side. Tommy nearly howled: “Mummy, I have to pee!” So he was sent to the toilet, while we stood there and watched as Mother placed the wooden kitchen chair in an appropriate position. Then she opened the kitchen drawer, grabbed the wooden spoon and placed it on the kitchen table.
I think Ann and I pressed our hands simultaneously on our bottom cheeks when we saw this well-known implement. Our fear grew but I withdrew further into anger and said to myself: “You won’t give me that spoon today – there’s no reason for punishing me!”
When Tommy came back in, he started crying at once when he saw the spoon on the table. Mother ordered him to come to her she said: “Tommy, you know what happens if you do not obey and today you disobeyed very much.”
With these words, soon he was in the over-the-knee position. Then, without further ado, Mother started to spank his bottom with her hand – he got it really good.
We watched wide-eyed as he twisted over Mother’s lap , and Tommy cried louder and louder. He really got a lot of swats. Pressing his hands on his burning bottom, he jumped up from Mother’s lap, still crying a lot.
Then Mother went back to her chair, this time picking up the wooden spoon from the table. Then she ordered Ann to come to her. Ann, already sobbing, made no attempt at any excuse, only saying: “Oh Mother, I am so sorry, so sorry.” But Mother only said: “Ann, you deserve a bottom spanking too.”
Starting to cry even more, Ann went over Mummy’s knee to have the wooden spoon on her bottom.
I felt that it was really Ann who had caused the problem – she needed the spanking, not me. And Mother had no reason for giving me a spanking .
Somehow, I didn’t realise when Ann’s punishment was complete but suddenly I heard Mother saying: “Now it’s the turn of the young man who played the worst role this afternoon. Come here and bend over that table!”
“I did nothing,” I shouted. “Come here,” said Mother sternly. She got hold of me and started to smack my legs with the spoon. It really hurt. The thin material of my wide knee-length wide shorts didn’t afford much protection.
I started to cry really loud: “It’s not fair, it’s not fair…you have no reason to spank me – no, no, no!” This made Mother even more angry.
Suddenly she let me up, put the spoon on the table and ordered me to wait. She stood on the chair and fetched from the top of the cupboard the rattan stick. I had only experienced it once before – from my dad over the seat of my cord jeans. Now Mother had this stick in her hand.
I started really to cry as loud as I could, full of fear and of anger, when Mother again came towards me. Thinking she was going to hit me again, I protected my bottom with my hand. I suddenly found myself positioned over the kitchen-table.
While Mother held me with one hand she used the other to let the flexible rattan stick dance over my bottom cheeks and thighs.I struggled for a while but finally resigned myself to the punishment and lay over the table, crying hard, as she punished me.
Then there was a moment of silence – me bending over the table, Mother pinning me down and trying to get her breath again while I was out of breath too and in a flood of tears. When she had recovered, she said: “Young man, something like this will never happen again – you will learn your lesson today!”
With that, she again took the stick to my bare buttocks, my body dancing more and more under the increasing pain from the rattan stick on my bare buttocks. When she finally stopped, I couldn’t stop crying and every inch of my bottom was burning and hurting – a lot of the stingers hit my thighs too.
I was ordered to pull up my pants and to bring all the stuff from the shopping trip from the car into the kitchen. On the one hand I was really glad that I could disappear. But I had to walk three times to the car on the street and then back to the kitchen to get all the stuff in. And I couldn’t stop sobbing and touching my burning behind.
I was embarrassed, but the neighbourhood knew what had happened anyway because of our loud crying. When I had carried everything in, my siblings where already sent to bed in the children’s room which we all shared.
I too was ordered to change into my pyjamas and go to bed. I thought about arguing but Mother only looked at the stick which was still lying on the table, and off I went to our bedroom.
