…. I grew numb to the belt at an early age …. The old man would call me outside to square up lol

I hated when the counting BS started. “Timmy, stop, 1….2…3. Blah blah blah”. I’d always say, “you might wanna trim that down to 1 in case he’s headed for traffic. I was more of a .5 dad.

Had to drag my daughter out of a restaurant once for a "correction"....you should have seen the dirty looks I got when we came back in, lol
My son was easy, he figured out early watching his sister on what NOT to do....I don't believe he ever needed anything more than a "look", lol

^^^^ This. Once you've heard it & know what's coming next, you avoid that sound. Kind of like a pump-action shotgun- it's an attention getter.
By the way, it didn't matter what I thought about spanking, my parents believed in it. I got spankings, I got whippings, I learned to do better or I got it again. Instruction is also needed, not just the thunder and lightening.
Not perfect but I'm ok.

I got my share of spankings growing up. Some for stuff I deserved others not so much. My ol man was always ornery so I think he must have enjoyed doing it. Mom had to stop him several times yelling enough was enough! My parents divorced when I was a kid and mom couldn’t control me. However a quick phone call to ol dad would straighten me up quickly. I firmly believe in spanking a child when they need it but there is definitely such thing as spanking for ridiculous reasons or spanking too much. I am also a firm believer in kids needing a strong male presence in a home to keep them in line. I am a father of 3 now. I rarely have to spank my kids. My son is older and admits he is not scared of his mom but he is afraid of me. Its a healthy amount of fear. The kind where he knows he doesn’t have to walk on eggshells around me and he can be himself but he clearly knows right from wrong and knows ol dad won’t put up with crap long. Mom on the other hand is more of a pushover. She threatens with “If you do that again Ill spank you!” Well she may say that three times before she actually does it. I on the other hand do it after the first warning didn’t sink in. My daughters get spanked semi regular for not cleaning their rooms or taking all day to do it. Threatening them doesn’t work, taking electronics away doesn’t work, but by God after a spanking buddy the cleaning starts! All three are great kids. They know how to act in public, are respectful to others and cause no mischief otherwise. Overall I believe spanking works when necessary and a good male role model in the home works wonders.