A Pyjama Punishment Monthly article featuring the methods of Miss Helen Good who was a well known advocate of pyjama and early bedtime punishment and often used controversial methods

Dear Nanny Smackbottom

There appeared to be some confusion in issue 12 regarding my position on bedtimes for naughty little boys and smacked botties.

Please allow me to explain. It has always been part of my disciplinary philosophy to treat adolescent boys (and young adult males), as if they were at least five years younger than their physical age. Girls, in general, mature much quicker and as such it is correct that the male should go to bed sooner and their bedtimes supervised by their sister or sisters.

I would expect that a 16 year old boy under my supervision would have a bedtime of between 6 and 7 pm with a pyjama time of 4 or 5 p.m. Furthermore, I always put boys or men who are under my control, into their pyjamas a minimum of 2 hours before their bedtime, therefore a male who I have decided has a 6pm bedtime would be dressed in their pyjamas ready for bed by 4pm each day. If younger sisters or cousins, neighbours are around to witness the pyjamaring, then so much the better.

I make no allowances for weekends or holidays, I adhere rigidly to their pyjama and bedtime without exception, this reinforces the boy's immature status in the sibling hierarchy. In addition, this is why I ensure all my little boys wear infantile, childish nightwear whatever their ages.

Imagine a sixteen year old who has to parade around in front of his younger sisters for 2 hours before bedtime wearing his dinosaur or teddy-bear motif, little boy pyjamas and slippers. If specially sewn little boy pyjamas are beyond your means, then female pyjamas from any high street chain store are an acceptable alternative. I always prefer pyjamas to be slightly too large for the wearer, emphasising their infantile status.You can see how this technique will quickly make all males lose their aggressive attitudes and respond to female discipline more effectively.

The girl, or girls, should become part of the boys bedtime routine, helping with bath time, helping select his baby pyjamas and subsequently buttoning up his pyjama top for him and stepping him into pyjama bottoms.

At first, he will be shy and embarrassed about being naked in front of everyone but after a few smacked legs he will soon become accustomed to being seen naked.

It is also advisable to have the girls involved tucking in a recalcitrant naughty boy snugly into bed before kissing him goodnight with a warning that he is not to get out of bed without permission under any circumstances. In addition, having your 12 year old sister drawing the bedroom curtains on a sunny summer evening at 6pm as the 16 year-old is encased in pyjamas and bedclothes is especially humiliating for the boy who is being put to bed and a good way to educate young siblings early on in their lives on how to train a well disciplined male.

Over the years I have endeavoured to ensure that the males who have fallen under my patronage come to appreciate their subservient role in regard to the superior female. I have developed my doctrine of pyjama and early bedtime discipline as an excellent way to achieve this. During my career I have used maternal, over the knee spankings to reinforce my control. However this is a method I tend to use sparingly, not least because as we know, being placed over a matronly lap for a smacked bottom can be surprisingly stimulating for some adolescent males.

For maximum effectiveness, smacked bottom time should be delivered in front of several females. I prefer to smack bottoms in the presence of ladies from my own circle who understand and approve of my philosophy, boys being spanked are far less likely to become "excited" when a group of females are watching the discipline occur.

This reserves the humiliation of a boy going across a knee in front of younger females as an additional punishment. I always begin spanking with the recipient pyjama clad and continue by easing down their pyjama bottoms to expose the naughty boys bare bottom to further punishment if needed.

Sometimes a particular boy will require a more infantile approach to discipline. In such cases I use pyjama rompers, nappies, mittens and babies dummies to enforce compliance with my disciplinary measures. Those particular boys sleep in specially constructed baby cots and are more closely supervised by a strict matron or nanny.

I trust this clarifies my position on early bedtimes, pyjamas and spankings for naughty boys.

Yours

Miss Helen Good

Dear Miss Good

Your letter in issue 12 about your experiment involving your nephew certainly inflated my postbag last month! Reverting the eighteen year old back to that of a much younger boy and confining him to state of permanent infantile pyjama and early bedtime punishment was controversial indeed. I myself, as I made clear, think the experiment has merit and am actively looking for a suitable candidate myself to repeat your technique. Others however objected to your overuse of smacked bottoms and the excessively early bedtimes they also disagreed with your findings and conclusions. The confusion arose I think because the objectors failed to understand that your nephew is perfectly happy to accept his newfound status and does not wish to revert back to a traditional adult lifestyle.

I am happy that you have made your position clear in this month's edition of Pyjama Punishment Monthly and that others may appreciate how you have led the field for many years in your innovative approach to pyjama and early bedtime punishment.

Nanny Smackbottom