A switch is a flexible rod which is typically used for corporal punishment, similar to birching.

Punitive switching [ edit ]

Switches are most efficient (i.e., painful and durable) if made of a strong but flexible type of wood, such as hazel (also used for a very severe birch) or hickory. It is indicated that birch and willow branches are time-honored favorites, but branches from most strong trees and large shrubs can be used also. Switches are often nearby from a garden, an orchard or taken from the wild. In the Southeastern United States, fresh-cut, flexible cane (Arundinaria) is commonly used. The usage of switches has been hotly contested in North America and Europe.[1]

Making a switch involves cutting it from the stem and removing twigs or directly attached leaves.[citation needed] For optimal flexibility, it is cut fresh shortly before use, rather than keeping it for re-use over time.[citation needed] Some parents decide to make the cutting of a switch an additional form of punishment for a child, by requiring the disobedient child to cut his/her own switch.[citation needed]

The tamarind switch (in Creole English tambran switch ) is a judicial birch-like instrument for corporal punishment made from three tamarind rods, braided and oiled, used long after independence in the Caribbean Commonwealth island states of Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. [2]

(in Creole English ) is a judicial birch-like instrument for corporal punishment made from three tamarind rods, braided and oiled, used long after independence in the Caribbean Commonwealth island states of Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The Gilbertese tribal community at Wagina in Choiseul province (Solomon Islands) reintroduced by referendum in 2005 traditional "whipping" with coconut tree branches for various offences - the national justice system opposes this.[3]

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