Reply #131: My father hit me [View All]

[SocratesInSpirit]

with a belt when I was quite young. As I grew older, he mainly hit me with an open hand, on the butt, very hard. It really, really hurt. During the summer, when I wore shorts because of the hot weather, he would hit me with a flyswatter on my bare legs. I feared and hated my father, and was very happy when my parents divorced and I didn't have to live with him anymore. I did, unfortunately, have to visit him on weekends.

He still continued to hit me. It never occured to me that I could tell my mother, and I wouldn't have to visit him anymore. The last time he ever did anything to me was when I was about 14, when he kicked me in the face. The worst part is that my younger sister witnessed this, and told me it wasn't a big deal, because he "didn't kick me that hard."

But my father knew he had crossed the line, because he was very apologetic and begged me not to tell my mother. Like a fool, I did as he wished and did not tell anyone for a very long time.

I am in therapy now, largely because of these things. My father knows I am in therapy, and wonders why, but I am not ready to tell him the truth. I think he might suspect that he is part of the reason, but for now he wants to pretend everything is a-ok and does not ask me too many questions.

Consequently, I get very touchy whenever I hear someone say it is okay to hit a child.