Switch (corporal punishment)

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

Punitive switching

Switches are typically made of strong and flexible wood such as hazel, birch, or hickory. Willow branches are also used, as well as branches from strong trees and large shrubs. Switches are often from a garden or an orchard nearby, or taken from the wild. In the Southeastern United States, fresh-cut, flexible cane is commonly used.
The tamarind switch is a judicial birch-like instrument for corporal punishment made from three tamarind rods, braided and oiled, used long after independence in the Commonwealth Caribbean island states of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
In the 20th and 21st centuries the use of corporal punishment has been criticized, in both North America and Europe.