"One to grow on"

[linguoboy]

On an older episode of QI, they present the custom of giving children spankings for their birthday as something quaintly American. I grew up with this and never conceived of it as something unique to us. (I guess, as with most of our crueler traditions, I just assumed it was brought here from Germany.)

In my parochial grammar school, the teachers and nuns would bring a pupil to the front of the class on his or her birthday and dole out a swot on the bum for every year of age, then one more, which was called "one to grow on". There was also the tradition of "a pinch to grow an inch", but this was something generally administered by classmates and each of them was allowed to do it. But only an authority figure was allowed to give the spanking.

So my question is: Are any of you familiar with this custom or one similar to it?

[mōdgethanc]

Yeah, but I never assumed it was an exclusively North American (maybe even exclusively Anglophone) thing. I knew about it from seeing it in media and my parents telling me about it, but I've never seen it firsthand.

I gathered that the superstition behind it is that if you don't get your birthday spanking, you won't grow that year, whence the "one to grow on" (one swat for each year of your life so far plus one for the coming year).

[Halfdan]

That's interesting. I'm only familiar with the "pinch to grow an inch" and something called "birthday beats" (this is where friends/classmates punch you as many times as you are years old, i.e., 19 years old, 19 punches.)

[Aleco]

I don't know if this is uniquely North American, but I can tell you that this sounds extremely strange to me

(Off topic: I actually have to go as far back as to my grandpa who went to school from the mid 1930s until the end of the war to even hear of people getting spanked. I was actually horrified to hear my American host mom telling me about how she would spank the kids if they were being disobedient when they were smaller (they were 16, 18, and 23 at this time). )

[mōdgethanc]

This is interesting. My dad told me about getting the strap when he was in school (1960s-70s) but I assumed it hadn't been practiced since his day. In fact, corporal punishment wasn't banned in Ontario until 2009, five years after the Supreme Court decided to outlaw it.

That's interesting. I'm only familiar with the "pinch to grow an inch" and something called "birthday beats" (this is where friends/classmates punch you as many times as you are years old, i.e., 19 years old, 19 punches.)

I think the "pinch to grow an inch" is the milder version, and like you said, "birthday beatings" is something your peer group does, not your parents, so it's not really the same thing. It's more of a lighthearted hazing ritual.

[Sol Invictus]

No, and it seemed weir to me when I learned about it, because I associate it with punishment, however we have spanking tradition on Palm Sunday and that doesn't seem terrible at all but just to make the answer more interesting:

On birthdays typically you are expected to feed other people. In schools it is kind of ritualized thing - you give each person in your class a candy, and in lower grades they draw you greeting cards. When I was in kindergarten there also was tradition to throw person in air (in this case, technically, one would sit on a chair that would be raised up) several times i.e. once for each year

[Johanna]

No, never heard of it.

Besides, any kind of violence against children has been illegal since the late 70's.

[mōdgethanc]

No, never heard of it.

Besides, any kind of violence against children has been illegal since the late 70's.

It's not seen as violence against children, though. It's a ritual that isn't comparable to an actual spanking, since the intention isn't to hurt the child, and it doesn't actually cause pain or leave marks (at least, not as far as I know). It's more of a mockery of a spanking than anything.

[linguoboy]

I gathered that the superstition behind it is that if you don't get your birthday spanking, you won't grow that year, whence the "one to grow on" (one swat for each year of your life so far plus one for the coming year).

On a deeper level, I think it has the effect of restoring balance: A birthday child is the focus of special attention--they receive congratulations, gifts, cakes, etc.--that can cause resentment among their peers. Subjecting them to ritualised humiliation defuses this somewhat.

As Talib says, the spankings weren't actually painful. They weren't like the spankings I got from my parents. (Despite having gone to school in the 70s, I don't recall ever being physically disciplined by a teacher. All those scary stories about the nuns and their rulers predate me.)

[Lambda]

Well, I had never heard about it before this thread.
Although I do recall seeing an old comic or two that had a character being pinched on her birthday.

[Levo]

Never heard of such custom.

The weirdest I've ever heard of in Hungary, that our German-speaking minority, the "sváb" or schwäbisch girls had to get laid at the age of 16 with a cousin of theirs to loose their virginity.
No spanking traditions...

[ling]

I recall with a sense of horror the cruel tradition I encountered (and thankfully was able to avoid) when attending public schools in the UK. It was called "the bumps". Classmates would grab the birthday boy by the arms and legs, and while hoisting him into the air they would kick him for as many times as was his birthday. The kicks (which connected with the victim's ass, back, thighs, and probably testicles if he was especially unlucky) were followed by a final one for good measure.

[Lada]

Similar thing happens in Russia. On someone's birthday other children try to pluck(?) his ears as many times as he/she is years old. As I'm an adult already these things have been forgotten, but some people still practice it mildly. (in childhood it was really painful)

That's how it looks like:

[Varislintu]

I've heard about birthday spankings, probably from American media content. I wasn't clear on where it's a custom exactly, but I haven't heard of it in a Finnish context, ever.

The only remotely similar thing (simulating something potentially violent) I can think of is giving a good luck kick. This is done by grabbing someone's shoulders from behind and bumping their behind gently with your knee. It's done when someone is leaving to do something where they might need luck. My mom used to do it to me on departure on days that I had a big exam or something . Moms .

[Levo]

Similar thing happens in Russia. On someone's birthday other children try to pluck(?) his ears as many times as he/she is years old. As I'm an adult already these things have been forgotten, but some people still practice it mildly. (in childhood it was really painful)

That's how it looks like:

Now you remind me of "Füled érjen bokáig!". It means "Let your ears reach your ankle". We used to say that at birthdays. I almost forgot it

[Lur]

We have it as friednly ear plucking on one ear for each year plus one more

[mōdgethanc]

Never heard of such custom.

The weirdest I've ever heard of in Hungary, that our German-speaking minority, the "sváb" or schwäbisch girls had to get laid at the age of 16 with a cousin of theirs to loose their virginity.
No spanking traditions...

Since nobody has commented on this so far, I'll be the first to say it: What in the unholy fuck?!

[linguoboy]

The weirdest I've ever heard of in Hungary, that our German-speaking minority, the "sváb" or schwäbisch girls had to get laid at the age of 16 with a cousin of theirs to loose their virginity.
No spanking traditions...

Since nobody has commented on this so far, I'll be the first to say it: What in the unholy fuck?!

My reaction to this was that it sounds like exactly the sort of rumour that tends to circulate about minority cultures in Western societies. In other words: Source?

[Levo]

The weirdest I've ever heard of in Hungary, that our German-speaking minority, the "sváb" or schwäbisch girls had to get laid at the age of 16 with a cousin of theirs to loose their virginity.
No spanking traditions...

Since nobody has commented on this so far, I'll be the first to say it: What in the unholy fuck?!

My reaction to this was that it sounds like exactly the sort of rumour that tends to circulate about minority cultures in Western societies. ...

Really? Never heard of this.

[linguoboy]

The weirdest I've ever heard of in Hungary, that our German-speaking minority, the "sváb" or schwäbisch girls had to get laid at the age of 16 with a cousin of theirs to loose their virginity.
No spanking traditions...

Since nobody has commented on this so far, I'll be the first to say it: What in the unholy fuck?!

My reaction to this was that it sounds like exactly the sort of rumour that tends to circulate about minority cultures in Western societies. ...

Really? Never heard of this.

You're the one who told us about it!