I grew up in a boomer Leave it to Beaver family, except June liked beer. I'm quite familiar with the taste of soap, and distinctly remember the threats of "I'll beat you to a fair-thee-well", whatever that means. She would chase us down and administer spankings, but there was no physical damage. Dad was a vet of the WW2 southern Pacific fighting and had a cooler head but would administer measured justice when needed (more like Andy Griffith). All of this was done with bare hands on clothed skin.
By the time I was maybe 10 or 11, I knew right from wrong by Mom's and Dad's standards. I still occasionally fucked up and had to endure Dad's logical lectures and other punishments (like being grounded), but there was no more corporal punishment.
I guess I was lucky, as I knew other neighborhood kids who sometimes had bruises and such that would trigger charges in today's world. Some kids got beat up worse as teenagers. The counter-intuitive thing is that all of the kids I stayed in touch with turned out OK, and the worst of them straightened out and became successful in the trades. We came of age in the era of the draft, and the military helped a few, but 2 didn't come home alive. The people of my era carry some baggage.