Some time ago I was at a social gathering with a few friends and one of the women mentioned that she would be looking after her young nieces for a week while her sister went on holiday. She said that she had very little experience of caring for children and hoped they would be well behaved, otherwise, she feared she would not be able to cope. Oh, it’s easy, said another woman, if they play you up, you just put them over your knee and smack their bottoms.
This led to a discussion about how to discipline children, and being childless, I did not feel obliged, or qualified, to join in, so I just sat there feeling slightly uncomfortable.