I was talking about my childhood with my Mum yesterday. I harbour quite a lot of resentment about it. My Dad had a very nasty temper and would regularly hit us if he didn't like the look on our faces, or we said something he didn't like. I was the only girl and received the brunt of it. I can remember many occasions where he lost his temper and I would be on the floor screaming while hits were raining down on me. He never used a belt and never hit me on the face. The worst of it started at the age of 11 and I think the last time he hit me was around the age of 19. I suffered with quite a bit of depression due to this and made my first suicide attempt at age 17 and again around the age of 23. I have battled with low mood and depression all my life. I never hit my own children.
My parents were working-class and I lived in a nice, clean home and they both worked hard. On the surface, everything should have been ok. None of my friend's parents hit then and I envied their happy go lucky attitudes as a result. My Mum never defended me when I used to get hit and she revealed to me that he hit her once when they were 'courting' and a few times in their early marriage but not in recent years. I was quite shocked but this. They have been married for nearly 50 years and his temper has mellowed with age.
What are your views on hitting children? Where does smacking end and it become child abuse? I am extremely anti-smacking, I remember being hit lots but never the reason why nor the 'lesson' that was trying to be taught.