Corporal punishment wasn't unknown in my family, either, but spankings were few and far between. Of course, I was such an that I only witnessed such things.

Seriously, Grandma was of the, "Boy, go cut me a switch" generation. But mom preferred my Grandpa's old strops. Gramps was a barber, so strops weren't hard to come by. As both women put it, "I'll be if I'm gonna hurt my hand!"

Although I don't think that my siblings or I were harmed, my kids typically got only a stern dressing down, a swat to the butt, and a, "Go to your room!".