>
> (laughing) I'll never forget the one (and *only*) time I did babysitting
> for some neighbor's kids around 1975. Their mother handed me a wooden
> spoon on her way out the door and told me not to be afraid to hit them
> with it. YIKES! Obviously this was in the days prior to a kid picking up
> the phone to call CPS if you so much as raise your voice in their
> presence.
>
> Jill

I had a similar experience. I babysat (1959) for a large family. The Mom
handed me a ping pong paddle and told me it was the baby bat. I didn't have
to use it. Just the threat was enough... My grandfather was a barber and
my Dad had his razor strop that was the threat in our house. It never got
used either. Just the threat of it was enough. Kids these days don't have
any fear of consequences for their actions....Sharon in Canada