What was your worst/standard punishment as a child?

I was never beaten when I was a child - I grew up in a commune near Arcata, California, and as you might expect physical violence was very much frowned upon amongst these people. I used to think they were wrong.

I do have a son of my own who I occasionally beated when he acted out (he's 8 years old). Three months ago it sort of got out of hand though - child services took him away after I snapped and got too violent. The kid started to call me Frank instead of dad about a year ago, which annoyed me, and I told him to call me dad again - he didn't, and I guess I got furious when he called me Frank one too many time.

I'm forced to take anger management classes and also parenting classes now and I learned that violence can never be the answer, no matter how much the kid gets on your nerves. I'm actually also working on getting my son back to my house, but the authorities said that could take several months - with my wife not around anymore and my son somewhere I can't reach him, I really don't know what to do with my time...

That's the thing with hitting kids.

They misbehave, you smack them.
They misbehave more, you smack them harder.
What if they don't learn, don't behave?

Do you beat the living shit out of them?

It takes a big man to admit their faults, Frank. I wish you luck.
You must be under a lot of pressure as a single parent, and it must be difficult not to lash out at times.