Re: Quite Right!

I know for a fact (recognised the symptoms years later) that I suffered deep depression when I was 14.

At the time it was just called growing pains.

Re: Quite Right!

LOL, so true Missy. As my six brothers were all just one year between them, if they were playing up, Dad, a Miner, only had to take his studded belt off for them to scatter like the wind. (he never used it once). Being an Irish Paddy, all he had to say as he stood up from his chair and took the belt off was..."By the Jasus.... and they were so in fear they took off toot sweet. I often saw him smiling to himself after they took flight.

My own six gorillas are a different story. If I had tried the "wait till your father gets home" mantra, they would have laughed. He was definitely good cop. It was me who had to be bad cop. With my lot, when I meted out a punishment I had to mean it. If the threat was no pocket money for that week, or no going out, I had to keep my word, even though I often felt so sorry for them later. Anarchy would have reigned if I hadn't because he who must obey was putty in their hands if they wanted anything.

Only once can I ever recall one of my gorillas getting a good smack on his bottom, that was when he was aged 10 and was caught stealing toys with two other boys a little older than him, from Woolworths, It upset me at the time but I sat him down at the table and talked to him about his crime. I couldn't understand why he did it, I fully expected him to say it was the older boys who put him up to it, but no, he said he wanted the toys, so just stuffed them into his pockets! I was so disappointed with him. he had the same pocket money as his brothers every week for delegated jobs, (his task was to take the rubbish bags out to the bin whenever they needed taking) and I was mortified that he ever felt that it was okay to steal from a shop.
He never did it again! being Catholic, he had to go to confession, talk to our priest and do without his pocket money for a whole month as punishment.

Sometimes, when I look at him now, married, successful businessman, with a beautiful wife and 3 boys of his own, I think back to that smacked bottom incident and know that it was the right thing to do at the time, although many would disagree with me.

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I wouldn't dream of disagreeing on how anyone brought up their children but I always found boring them to death put them off doing things twice. A good hour sat at the table talking about why they did it, why they shouldn't and what they can do to put it right and they never wanted to disappoint mum again

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I can still vividly remember a boy in my class being hit repeatedly on his backside with 'the slipper' in front of the whole class, he didn't cry but he did wet himself. I have no idea what his 'crime' was. thank goodness those days are long gone.

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Oh for us, it was the threat of dad that got us behaving. Could run rings round mum but we weren’t badly behaved kids

At school it wasn’t so much as the threat of the slipper that kept you minding your manners, it was the fear of having your parents told

I remember being caught smoking in the street by a policeman when I was around 14. Yeah I was cocky in front of my friends at the time, less so that night when he turned up at the door to tell me dad

Oh the shame of having a copper brought to the doorstep. The lecture I got over that one sits with me today

Back when I was a kid we had to show respect to everyone. Our elders were called by their surnames, I was so confused it my first job because we had to call all the seniors Miss this, Mrs that and Mr other in work, but then swap to first names when socialising. We never called anyone by there first name until invited to do so. Our neighbours were all Mr and Mrs. Friends of the family were usually known as Auntie or Uncle. I called my great aunt Pat auntie Pat til the day she died and I was in my 30’s

Yes there was the odd bad apple , one who’s behaviour was out of control, they usually either ended up in a special school or borstal, but that was rare. Unlike today where it seems there’s whole families on benefits for having special needs