Apparently, when my mom was studying, I was acting up, (I was only about 2) and my mom took me outside.  A nosy lady from the hall followed my mom out, and offered to spank me for her.

God help someone who would ever try to offer to beat my child.

Mine continued untill my late teens-hit ANYWHERE (face, neck, back, breasts, legs, buttocks, etc...) that the back of my father's hand, thick leather belt, hair brushes, shoes, horses bridles, and even the heavy ornate antique wooden door-moulding (he ripped off the doorway) could strike. When I became engaged at 18, my father (an elder) rushed out of my house to meet my fiance in the street, with a sucker punch (by an ex-marine mind you to a 17 y/o newly baptized BOY!) to his jaw, breaking it. How's that for memories? God help me if I didn't jump up, in a friendly mood, from bed the FIRST time the alarm went off! My brothers still shudder at the memory of the sounds of agony from upstairs-made them into choir-boys! Now wouldn't that make ANY kid LOVE and OBEY Jehovah?!? PTOOEY!

((((Debradoll)))) Sounds like your dad was a real man, what wiht having to beat up little kids & sucker punch people. I hope he went to prison where monsters like that belong.

Blondie : Not an easy thing to do, to get involved when you see a parent abuse a child....  but certainly the right thing to do.  I applaud you.

I have hardly any memories from before I was 4 years old... my parents have told me, however, that both my older brother and I would get spanked if we wouldn't sit still at the KH, starting from when we were around a year old.

The WTS is the same the world over; when we were in Spain, I remember being at bookstudy and hearing the sounds of a little boy (2 or 3 years old) being spanked in the kitchen. Before the study, the mom had shown us all the plastic ruler she had in her purse... I guess she meant to assure us that her son wouldn't be any trouble.

The congregation I spent most of my teenage years in was an easygoing one; I hardly ever saw or heard a spanking at the hall. When I switched to the Russian, however, there was one particular couple with a two-year-old daughter, and her parents (ex-bethelite husband, pioneer wife) would demand that she sit straight up and absolutely still at the meetings. Even if she wasn't making any noise, she would get spanked just for not sitting still. Sometimes I dreaded going to bookstudy just because I had to watch how they treated the girl.

I certainly wouldn't compare these things to the beatings that Lady Lee or DebraDoll suffered; but I still think they constitute abuse.

Not only were spankings annoying at the hall for others to listen to, while the meeting was in progress, but it usually didn't stop there. Some kids were required to answer at least twice during the meeting, or else they would be getting it at home. And if they didn't pay proper attention at the long assemblies, then there would be no swimming at the pool that evening. And if their WT wasn't prepared thouroughly, they would get no lunch until they had gone back and restudy the articles. So is this child abuse to the inth degree?

You be the judge.

 Not that the brother would ever do this at the hall, but I knew a future elder (m.s.. at the time) who would beat his kids with a rubber hose.    Too bad the oldest lied when confronted by school officials.   Trust me I would have turned the moron in if I knew at the time.

There is this one woman at my old KH that likes to whip other peoples kids.  She even hit me as a child in FS because I spilled some pop on my dress.  When my mom confronted her the bitch denied it.  grrrr  Her own grandchildren won't go near her.  She once made the huge mistake of smacking one of my neices for not being still at the KH.  I did not find out about it till 2 years after it happened.  Mom claims she did not know it happened.  She must be deaf/blind/stupid because my neice told me mom was sitting right beside her.  I only found out because my neice told me in a casual conversation. 

The anger that went thru me.  OMG I will never forget it.  I went to my mom's looked at her address book and found out where she lived.  I went to her apartment and cussed the bitch out.  I wanted to beat her ass but she was not worth the $185 fine and anger management classes I would have to attend.  I said what I wanted to say at her door.  Of course she quickly closed the door after my barage of curse words and threatened to call the police.  A year after that happened I ran into her at the grocery store and I cussed her out again.  You know my dub mom did not say one word to me either time about cussing her out.  I know she heard about it.  Just thinking about that bitch pisses me off!!! 

My mam used to break the spoon from the force of her blows, but that didn't hurt as much as the things she used to say, that I disgusted her by being so naughty, and to get away from her because she hates disgusting people.

At least "regular" type churches many times have a Sunday school program that is catered to that particular age group.

It really doesn't make sense to try to make small children sit at attention for a couple of hours, or longer at assemblies when in fact the adults usually don't understand what is being taught either.