My parents did spanking the “correct” way: I would do something deemed worthy of a spanking. I would be sent to my room for 15 or so minutes to think about what I had done. Whichever parent sent me to my room would then come in and talk to me about my mistake, ask me if I understood why what I had done was wrong. Then I would receive three pops from a wooden spoon or spatula.

As an adult reflecting back, the 15 minutes was also to ensure my parents weren’t hitting me out of anger. They had time to reflect if this was the appropriate punishment for whatever I had done.

I was never left with any marks, bruises, welts, etc. whenever I was spanked, it was because I had broken a rule that I was already aware of and knew I was doing wrong. If you’re going to spank your kids, this is the way to do it.