Was Ann a spanking mom? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JRDM · 08-19-2007, 10:52 PM

As it's been said before, Ann had a fiery temper. Was it ever said whether she spanked Julie and Barbara when they were younger? I remember her slapping the crap out of Julie one time. What about their father, Ed? You always got the impression that Julie and Barbara got blistered when they were growing up.

catlover79 · 08-20-2007, 12:12 AM

It's hard to say - Ann was a "liberated" divorced mom who probably wanted to be "cool" in her kids' eyes, but she also had a temper to match her hair. If she WAS a spanker, I think the only one she would've spanked is Julie. Barbara seldom if ever gave her mom troubles, and certainly not on the scale Julie did. So I don't know. Good question, though.

mstewart · 08-20-2007, 02:12 AM

I think Ed did the spanking. In one episode she stated that he spanked them when needed. She did slapped Julie across the face when she pushed the envelope with Ann. If she did spanked it was out of anger and I can see her getting out of control with it.

JRDM · 08-20-2007, 12:05 PM

Yes, Ann wanted to be a "cool" mom, but I think her old-fashioned child-raising ideas and her temper prevented her from being that sometimes. I can really see her getting mad at Julie and Barbara when they were little and misbehaved. If I were a kid and had a spanking coming, I'd much rather get it from Ed than from Ann. LOL Ed probably would have given you a good one, but I don't see him going overboard. With Ann, however, I do see her going way overboard and hitting too hard and too much. Ann had such a hot temper. Ed's was much more in check. Ed probably held back when he spanked Julie and Barbara, and I doubt he did unless it was absolutely necessary.

Scoobiedoo30 · 09-21-2007, 01:56 PM

not that I remember

ThomasE · 09-22-2007, 12:34 AM

I do remember paddling Alex and slapping him in the face two seasons before that. He deserved that slap across the face. No doubt about that.

Scoobiedoo30 · 09-22-2007, 01:06 AM

who was Alex.

ThomasE · 09-22-2007, 01:19 AM

Her late boyfriend's son whom she had guardianship over. However, she did slap him when the boyfriend was alive.

Nighthawk76 · 11-06-2007, 11:31 PM

I don't believe so, no. Ann was more of a "Let's sit down and talk it out" sort of mother.

RWCTV · 11-12-2007, 05:10 PM

Yes! I can say that, for sure, Ann was a mother who believed in spanking her kids.

I remember a line where Ann told her daughters, "your father gave you a good spanking when you needed it," and I remember the episode where Ann slaps Alex. When Alex runs to tell his dad (Nick) that Ann hit him, Nick yells at Ann saying to her, "his mother never smacked him like that. I never smacked him like that!" and then Ann replies, "Maybe you should have."

But, hey, just like Maude Findlay said in the episode entitled "Phillips's Problem" of the show Maude, "Sometimes, in order to get a child to act like an angel on one end, you have to beat the devil out of him out of the other end. Actually, it's called exorcism."

PinkyTuscadero · 01-10-2008, 12:03 AM

I even recall Barbara saying that her Mom had spanked her when she was little.

And then there was an episode where Alex skipped school and was going to be paddled by the Principle as punishment. Anne was against teachers paddling kids, but when she brought alex home she accepter her full duties as guardian to Alex, and she pulled out a large wooden cutting board to discipline him. The episode ended with Alex bending over and Anne delivering the first swat.

JRDM · 01-15-2008, 02:00 AM

So Barbara said Ann spanked her? What for, and did she say if Ann just used her hand or an implement? Did Barbara think this was good or bad?

dorkil · 02-28-2011, 05:58 PM

I can't remember the episode, but Barbara did state that Ann spanked her when she was 5 for putting apple cores in the clothes hamper. It was not right because Barbara then says the apple cores were Julie's. Julie admits it grinning, and her face says that she knows she would have gotten a spanking had Ann known about it at the time. So yes, Ann was indeed a spanking mom. I think Ann and Ed shared the disciplinary duties. Ann probably spanked them more since she would have been at home with them, but Ed definitely spanked them too at least some because Ann states that emphatically.

May I say that the fact that the writers made Ed and Ann spanking parents is just one of the many things that made this show so realistic and so good. Let's face it folks. Most kids growing up at the time Julie and Barbara did, the 1960s, were spanked as discipline. Ed and Ann were REAL parents of the era. "One Day at a Time" never sugar-coated anything, and it never tried to ignore facts or change history. Some people may not like the idea of spanking kids, and but most all kids were spanked in that era. For a sitcom to ignore that fact would have been totally unrealistic.

So many sitcoms, even those from the 1950s and '60s but certainly more recent ones, will have typical sitcom punishments that amount to nothing. It's all short and sweet. However, when Ann Romano punished her daughters or reprimanded them, she did it like a real mother would. Heck, Barbara got grounded for an entire month for running off to Chicago. I liked how they didn't do the typical sitcom fluff of Ann realizing she was wrong and then letting Barbara off with no punishment.

By the time the show started, Julie and Barbara were obviously too old to be spanked, but from the flavor of the show we learn that they were spanked when they were little. And we can infer that those spankings amounted to something. Ann wouldn't have merely dusted them off. She would have busted their butts. And even though Ed was very gentle, sweet, and even in his own words a "patsy for the girls", I bet he could lay down the law pretty good himself when the girls were little. It can be inferred that Ed was stricter before the divorce when he saw the girls more than just on weekends. Plus, they were older by that time too.

Rich3 · 05-18-2011, 12:51 PM

I hope so.

I am so tired of the "liberated" and progressive ideas that were so prevalent in the 70's. I would have imagined a spanking episode to have been more like this:

Barbara does something *really* stupid or dangerous, causing Ann to think that her life was in danger. Ann spanks her out of frustration. But ends up crying and apologizing, blaming it on her own "outdated" upbringing. She promises never to touch her daughter again in any way that is not completely "loving."

Is there a barf bag nearby?

julietx · 05-24-2015, 03:03 AM

I think the answer is yes, Ann did spank on occasion when Julie and Barbara were little. So did Ed. It is confirmed for Ed because Ann specifically states that he spanked. Ann was in complete support of the way Ed disciplined the girls. After the divorce, he became very much of a pushover because he had absent parent syndrome, but before the divorce he made his girls behave. The only confirmed incident of Ann spanking was when Barbara stated in a later season episode that Ann spanked her at age 5 for putting apple cores in the clothes hamper. That is the only confirmed time that we know Ann spanked, unless there were other episodes that mentioned it that I am not thinking of at the moment. However, I just got the general idea that Ann was a spanking mom on an occasional basis just based on the show, her personality, etc.

08-19-2007, 10:52 PM	#1
JRDM Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 23, 2007 Posts: 88	Was Ann a spanking mom? As it's been said before, Ann had a fiery temper. Was it ever said whether she spanked Julie and Barbara when they were younger? I remember her slapping the crap out of Julie one time. What about their father, Ed? You always got the impression that Julie and Barbara got blistered when they were growing up.

08-20-2007, 12:12 AM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	It's hard to say - Ann was a "liberated" divorced mom who probably wanted to be "cool" in her kids' eyes, but she also had a temper to match her hair. If she WAS a spanker, I think the only one she would've spanked is Julie. Barbara seldom if ever gave her mom troubles, and certainly not on the scale Julie did. So I don't know. Good question, though.
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09-21-2007, 01:56 PM	#5
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	not that I remember
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09-22-2007, 12:34 AM	#6
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	I do remember paddling Alex and slapping him in the face two seasons before that. He deserved that slap across the face. No doubt about that.
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11-12-2007, 05:10 PM	#10
RWCTV Making Sense Senior Member Join Date: Sep 21, 2001 Location: Lockport, IL USA Posts: 1,138	Yes! I can say that, for sure, Ann was a mother who believed in spanking her kids. I remember a line where Ann told her daughters, "your father gave you a good spanking when you needed it," and I remember the episode where Ann slaps Alex. When Alex runs to tell his dad (Nick) that Ann hit him, Nick yells at Ann saying to her, "his mother never smacked him like that. I never smacked him like that!" and then Ann replies, "Maybe you should have." But, hey, just like Maude Findlay said in the episode entitled "Phillips's Problem" of the show Maude, "Sometimes, in order to get a child to act like an angel on one end, you have to beat the devil out of him out of the other end. Actually, it's called exorcism."
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08-20-2007, 02:12 AM	#3
mstewart mstewart Senior Member Join Date: Jan 25, 2002 Location: California Posts: 1,780	I think Ed did the spanking. In one episode she stated that he spanked them when needed. She did slapped Julie across the face when she pushed the envelope with Ann. If she did spanked it was out of anger and I can see her getting out of control with it.

08-20-2007, 12:05 PM	#4
JRDM Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 23, 2007 Posts: 88	Yes, Ann wanted to be a "cool" mom, but I think her old-fashioned child-raising ideas and her temper prevented her from being that sometimes. I can really see her getting mad at Julie and Barbara when they were little and misbehaved. If I were a kid and had a spanking coming, I'd much rather get it from Ed than from Ann. LOL Ed probably would have given you a good one, but I don't see him going overboard. With Ann, however, I do see her going way overboard and hitting too hard and too much. Ann had such a hot temper. Ed's was much more in check. Ed probably held back when he spanked Julie and Barbara, and I doubt he did unless it was absolutely necessary.

09-22-2007, 01:06 AM	#7
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	who was Alex.

09-22-2007, 01:19 AM	#8
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	Her late boyfriend's son whom she had guardianship over. However, she did slap him when the boyfriend was alive.

11-06-2007, 11:31 PM	#9
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254	I don't believe so, no. Ann was more of a "Let's sit down and talk it out" sort of mother.

01-10-2008, 12:03 AM	#11
PinkyTuscadero Member First Time Poster Join Date: Jan 09, 2008 Location: San Francisco Posts: 1	Yes she absolutely was... I even recall Barbara saying that her Mom had spanked her when she was little. And then there was an episode where Alex skipped school and was going to be paddled by the Principle as punishment. Anne was against teachers paddling kids, but when she brought alex home she accepter her full duties as guardian to Alex, and she pulled out a large wooden cutting board to discipline him. The episode ended with Alex bending over and Anne delivering the first swat.

01-15-2008, 02:00 AM	#12
JRDM Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 23, 2007 Posts: 88	So Barbara said Ann spanked her? What for, and did she say if Ann just used her hand or an implement? Did Barbara think this was good or bad?

02-28-2011, 05:58 PM	#13
dorkil Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Feb 07, 2011 Posts: 4	I can't remember the episode, but Barbara did state that Ann spanked her when she was 5 for putting apple cores in the clothes hamper. It was not right because Barbara then says the apple cores were Julie's. Julie admits it grinning, and her face says that she knows she would have gotten a spanking had Ann known about it at the time. So yes, Ann was indeed a spanking mom. I think Ann and Ed shared the disciplinary duties. Ann probably spanked them more since she would have been at home with them, but Ed definitely spanked them too at least some because Ann states that emphatically. May I say that the fact that the writers made Ed and Ann spanking parents is just one of the many things that made this show so realistic and so good. Let's face it folks. Most kids growing up at the time Julie and Barbara did, the 1960s, were spanked as discipline. Ed and Ann were REAL parents of the era. "One Day at a Time" never sugar-coated anything, and it never tried to ignore facts or change history. Some people may not like the idea of spanking kids, and but most all kids were spanked in that era. For a sitcom to ignore that fact would have been totally unrealistic. So many sitcoms, even those from the 1950s and '60s but certainly more recent ones, will have typical sitcom punishments that amount to nothing. It's all short and sweet. However, when Ann Romano punished her daughters or reprimanded them, she did it like a real mother would. Heck, Barbara got grounded for an entire month for running off to Chicago. I liked how they didn't do the typical sitcom fluff of Ann realizing she was wrong and then letting Barbara off with no punishment. By the time the show started, Julie and Barbara were obviously too old to be spanked, but from the flavor of the show we learn that they were spanked when they were little. And we can infer that those spankings amounted to something. Ann wouldn't have merely dusted them off. She would have busted their butts. And even though Ed was very gentle, sweet, and even in his own words a "patsy for the girls", I bet he could lay down the law pretty good himself when the girls were little. It can be inferred that Ed was stricter before the divorce when he saw the girls more than just on weekends. Plus, they were older by that time too.

05-18-2011, 12:51 PM	#14
Rich3 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 10, 2005 Posts: 691	I hope so. I am so tired of the "liberated" and progressive ideas that were so prevalent in the 70's. I would have imagined a spanking episode to have been more like this: Barbara does something really stupid or dangerous, causing Ann to think that her life was in danger. Ann spanks her out of frustration. But ends up crying and apologizing, blaming it on her own "outdated" upbringing. She promises never to touch her daughter again in any way that is not completely "loving." Is there a barf bag nearby?

05-24-2015, 03:03 AM	#15
julietx Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 03, 2015 Posts: 90	I think the answer is yes, Ann did spank on occasion when Julie and Barbara were little. So did Ed. It is confirmed for Ed because Ann specifically states that he spanked. Ann was in complete support of the way Ed disciplined the girls. After the divorce, he became very much of a pushover because he had absent parent syndrome, but before the divorce he made his girls behave. The only confirmed incident of Ann spanking was when Barbara stated in a later season episode that Ann spanked her at age 5 for putting apple cores in the clothes hamper. That is the only confirmed time that we know Ann spanked, unless there were other episodes that mentioned it that I am not thinking of at the moment. However, I just got the general idea that Ann was a spanking mom on an occasional basis just based on the show, her personality, etc.