Sandra was in many ways a defiant little girl, who constantly pushed the boundaries, and it was only three days after that first punishment when I had no option to provide her with another stinging backside to teach her a good lesson.

It was Saturday morning, and Sandra had been sulky and rude since she woke up. She received multiple warnings from me, and ended up in the corner for 10 minutes and earning a sweets ban for the rest of the day.

After all this drama,. I needed to go food shopping so I prepared the children and put them in the car. Sandra was still pouting and grumpy and when Simon tried to play with her in the car, she refused and stuck her tongue out at him, resulting in yet another warning of no TV for the weekend.

Once at the shops , we got a trolley and started shopping – which is certainly no fun with a grouchy younger one! Simon was happy and playful and being a good boy, though, which was a relief. Sandra, however, was pestering me for sweets. I reminded her that as she had been naughty all day, she would not be getting any. She continued to whine and I tried to ignore her.

I loaded up the trolley, then went to the counter to pay for my food. To my horror, when I had done so, I turned around to see Sandra eating a chocolate bar she had grabbed off the counter. I immediately snatched it away, and after whispering in my daughter’s ear that she was in big trouble, I went back to the counter to pay for it.