minti, powered by parents Powered by Parents
First Visit?     Register     Login
 

This site gets better with user participation. Please participate... Some of the main things you can do is rate this advice, add comments to this advice, add links to and from this advice, and/or write your own advice.

  email  print
  report   
Like this topic?
Write Advice
Add to Favorites
Advice that links to this one
ADVICE RATING
 (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) 4.97 (Highly recommend) from 25 votes (584 Visits)

Childhood Scars

Anonymous Author (January 2007)
I really try to be careful with Breanna and the way I speak to her,I also watch how her Father  and  I interact in front of her.I have had 2 phone calls in a week from my mum..........for us this is unusual,I came from a truly sad and at times
violent child hood.I do hold resentment toward my parents for my lost childhood I try on a daily basis to forgive them and get over it but flashes from the past just keep haunting me.The way we treat our children has such a huge bearing on the way they grow into adults and in turn how they conduct themselves as parents.

When children go through their childhood combating a myriad of traumatic circumstances,sometimes there are heartbreaking ramifications,these poor children can become pedophiles,rapists,abusers,thieves the list is endless.Don't get me wrong sometimes our kids turn out on the wrong side of the law regardless and vice versa I just know there are days for me where I can just here my parents spewing forth out of me and it takes all my strength to reign myself back in.You can shoot down a child's confidence with just a look,crush their individuality with a careless phrase.....

What seems like a harmless burst of temper can actually remain in our children's mind and hearts through into their adulthood.I have also come across a problem in regard to my Mum and the past this week......She absolutely refuses to acknowledge a lot of what went on in my childhood???? I don't need to hear her repent all her sins of the past,I don't even begin to need her to talk about it.What I do need is for her to at least not deny it,it is very condescending to be told things you knew happened as a child in turn did not !!!!!! I have realized there is nothing I can do to make Mum face up and own the truth,but I can protect myself from the hurt of her denial.

Each time she wants to stroll down memory lane I pull her up and respectfully say Mum you and I see things from a very different perspective so I choose not to discuss our past as we are now in the present.I may not be able to forget the past but I can control the hurtful way my Mum belittles it.I know the way she has chosen to deal with it is to bandaid her own guilt as a parent.What I can do is make sure I don't perpetuate the circle of my childhood,so I make sure my little girl feels secure ,confident and above all loved.I am not perfect and I have bad days,however I have a very real picture in my mind of how destructive poor parenting choices can be to a child.So this helps me be the best Mum I can be to my most precious gift of all.LOVE OUR KIDS THEY ARE OUR FUTURE regards Merle
Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of Minti.com Pty Ltd. If you are searching for health related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Terms of Service for more details.

Related Content:

Bookmarks:

ADVICE RATING
 (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) 4.97 (Highly recommend) from 25 votes
Report

Thankyou for your vote (you can change your vote at any time). Please leave some helpful comments about this advice using the box below.

ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
GoodGoodGoodGoodGood
AverageAverageAverageAverageAverage
PoorPoorPoorPoorPoor
Very PoorVery PoorVery PoorVery PoorVery Poor

Voting help


 
Add a comment on this article.

 

emmie
December 2007 | emmie
Re: Childhood Scars

brilliant article greatsadvice

good on you

Thanks for sharing

Emz x



Reply Reply Report
chargehand01
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | chargehand01
childhood scars
I have a lot of mental scars caused by my step mother and even now i still wake up at night in a cold sweat, and it has been almost 20yrs(I'm now 35yrs old) since the last time i copped it from her. I could not bring myself to be like her or ever do the things that she did. The trouble is you never know when you are going to remember the abuse. You put the whole issue in a nutshell and spoke it very well......


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
February 2007 | breannababy
childhood scars
Unfortunately  these childhood scars do have a habit of coming back to haunt us.......I really feel for you and am glad you are breaking the abuse cycle hugs to you regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
Bambie30
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | Bambie30
Exactly
I know exactly what u mean and I intend on doing things totally different with my children.


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
January 2007 | breannababy
Exactly
Good on you,we have to treasure our kids,thanks for your comment  regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
OzBinky
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | OzBinky
Scars of Childhood....

I want to print this out and send it to a few people....

My kids went through so much with their father and to this he will not recognize what they went though....not even in court would he accept that his words, behavior and so called disciplinary actions were in fact terribly abusive.

Telling your 8 year old daughter to hurry up and pick out a present for your mother before he rams his fist down her f'ing throat apparently is NOT abusive. Dragging your 6 year old son around the house by his hair or pushing you 4 year olds face into a wet bed, full or urine, is NOT abusive...its just teaching your kids.....shaking a 9 month old while saying SHUT UP is also ok....its all about parenting...*sigh*

I tell ya merle, you have given me some ways of handling things I don't handle very well too....thank you sweetie!!

Lavinia

 



Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
January 2007 | breannababy
Scars of Childhood....
Thank-you Binky,I must add that It was my Dad who was abusive,emotionally and physically.I was sexually abused(non penatrative)by family friends and one reletive.My mother's failure in my eyes was being too self absorbed and at times inflamed my fathers temper in my direction to protect my other siblings......the protection of my siblings was not an issue with me at the time but as an adult and parent I think she was wrong to do that.Your children have been through hell and back,their treatment by their father sounds similar to mine.My father was like this without alcohol,he was this way sober,if he drank he was actually great fun to be around.I hope your Kids are OK now,I can bet they still bare the scars though.They are lucky to have you for their support and shoulder.I could've been more understanding of my mother's lack of protection had she been scared of him,but all she cared about was her wealth and social standing.Theirs was a volatile marriage but he was not violent to her very often(she instigated the bouts but it is too long to write aboutLOL)put it this way she was not scared of him at all.Than-you for your kind comment hugs Merle


Reply Reply Report
Tadexpress
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | Tadexpress
Breaking the cycle

You are so right and  I fought hard with my demons to make sure I broke all the cycles when bringing up my own kids, it also meant a major move away from meddling parents and in-laws but neither my husband nor myself have any regrets about that, the cycles were broken. I still suffer personally from the past but I made sure my kids wouldnt, being vigilent and monitoriing your own words/behaviours is like child rearing itself consistency at all times...



Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
January 2007 | breannababy
Breaking the cycle
You are so right and I think is going to be a battle for me all my life......good on you regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
MonkeyDad
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | MonkeyDad
not alone
You are not alone in how you feel about your Mom's denial.  My mother, who I love very much and in general was a good mother also deals with "problem" memories the same way.  There are many events that have scared themselves on my memory and yet I am the ONLY one who remembers them.  My mom will frequently say "that never happened" or "you must be imagining it".  I find it a little upsetting that she would rather think I am misremembering something than to face up to what really happened.  Izzy and I are trying to raise our children with lessons we learned from our own childhood similar to what you are talking about.  We know we are perfect but we know we can't hide stuff from our kids, and we should never dismiss how they could possibly be affected by our actions or inactions.


Reply Reply Report
      MonkeyDad
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | MonkeyDad
not alone
I meant to say we know we aren't perfect ...  lol


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | breannababy
not alone
My Mum loves the river de nial  LOl I think that half the battle is knowing the problems the rest is implementing your strategies on how you are best going to serve your childrens future with said knowledge and plans.I feel so happy that you and Izzy are breaking the cycle of your past well done and hugs to you both regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
cazza
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | cazza
Childhood scars
I am with you on this again. I was abused as a child from my mum, and as a mum now i couldnt even bare to think about what she done to me. And its reall y sad as i cant even be in the same room as her, as she is the same person, and speaks to her grandchildren in the same disrespect as she did to me. I have no contact with her at all, as i will not allow my children to be in that nasty cycle... So i think that when we think of our childhoods we need to be strong and make sure that we show our children that we are going to do the right thing by them , and not to be afraid to come to us if they have a problem. So once again for a great article...


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
January 2007 | breannababy
Childhood scars
Thanks for your comment,I would love to cut off my Mother sometimes(most times)She hardly sees us and hasn't even met Breanna yet.My Mothers abuse was mainly her lack of protection for me,allowing my Dad to beat me and not being approachable when I was being sexually abused.She was very quick to put me down and really had no time for me....I am continually amazed at how she is a)quick to judge young Mums and b)Selectively forgetful on the past.Good on you for breaking the cycle of abuse you had to endure as a child.well done regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
Raine
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | Raine
thanks for sharing
It's not easy when a parent sees things from a different perspective to us...  The best way to deal with it is the way you are Take a hold of the Good & Move Forward.

Perhaps your mum really doesn't know or understand what she's done to hurt you.

My own mother suffered from a mental illness in which she really didn't know what she was saying at times. I had to be careful each time I spoke to her as she would UNKNOWINGLY manipulate whatever I said into something entirely different.

I remember one time wanting to stay at home with her when my father turned up to take my brother & I to the drive in with his new girlfriend. We were only very young but i wanted to stay with my mum because I she convinced me that my dad was a really bad man - As my brother left with them I got thrown to the floor & had a fork thrown at me. Blood poured out of my hand as I pulled it out, she screamed at me to go to my room. The next morning she didn't even remember what she had done.

For years I hated her. She told people that I was an uncontrollable kid & kicked me out on the streets when i was 16. Some of the stories I heard really amused me... eg I supposedly frequently was caught climbing out of my room & taking off with boys (wish I could remember that one) If she only knew, I was a real goody to shoes, to afraid to do anything wrong.

It's only recently I that I've learned about her problems after I finally went to see her & try to reconcile our differences. My step father let it slip & warned me that I needed to be careful what I said to her...  I carried a lot of hatred toward her for years & vowed never to be like her. You know she has grown into a bitter & lonely old woman & I really feel sorry for her. My kids don't like her & its not my doing. They've been brought up to show her respect & when she tries to 'stir the pot' we've learnt to simply ignore her, without letting her know off course


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
January 2007 | breannababy
thanks for sharing
Thanks for your comment,I am glad you found that there was a genuine reason for your Mums behaviour.My Mum just really doesn't want to face the truth.Oh well I am grown now and I just have to deal with her the best way I can. regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
TheMentorMom
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | TheMentorMom
Powerful
Powerful article!  Thank you for sharing your personal experience with abuse and neglect and what steps you are taking to cope with the relationship with your mother while raising a child.  I like the approach you are using with your mother, ie, pointing out the difference in your perspectives of the past and recognizing it is a topic that you two cannot discuss.  Very insightful!  Thanks again for sharing this well written and powerful article :)


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
January 2007 | breannababy
Powerful
I know that some times we have to agree to disagree,I respect the fact that this is my Mother and as such I have to be able to show my Daughter that no matter the circumstances there are ways to deal with even the most painful issues successfuly.It is sometimes very difficult to nudge Mum away from memory lane,however it is imperative that I do so we can have a semblance of a relationship.Thanks for your kind comment regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
nell18-3
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | nell18-3
Childhood Scars
Its for this very same reason that I have just put my boys on the list for counselling.
I felt they needed to be able to express themselves about all their hurts and what they have seen and heard without worries of who will find out what they said. I have assured them everything is totally confidential and they can be happy, sad, pleased, angry, upset, hurt anything they like but I just want it out of their system instead of festering and simmering away.
They have a recurring mental picture of me lying on the floor crying and screaming whilst their dad prodded me with his foot to get a grip and get on my feel only their interpretation is Mummy crying as Dad was kicking her. What happened was really nasty but I want their scars healed not buried to re appear later.


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | breannababy
Childhood Scars
Hi Helen,I think it very wise for you to get your boys into counseling.I don't believe the past ever gets buried,however I do think it is very important to learn the tools to deal with any traumatic incidents we may have faced as children and adults.thanks for your comment regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
lightbee
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | lightbee
Very true
Thanks Merle.  Although my childhood situation doesn't sound as traumatic as yours, it was still damaging and I'm still learning how to cope. Like you, I don't want to have my kids grow up with anything like what I coped with.  It always amazes me what a strong desire that is.  One of the things I really want to be able to do with my kids - which my Mum could never do - is admit when I'm wrong to them so they don't have to bear the brunt of every screw-up they get from me.  I know if my Mum would have only admitted the truth and took responsibility for her own actions, it would have made a world of difference to me.  Good on you for sharing this.


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | breannababy
Very true
Hi Leith,I have realized I will never receive any form of acknowledgement  or apology from my parents.I am fine about that as long as they don't expect me to swallow sugar coated chooky drops about the past.......I am taking comfort in the fact I am providing my daughter with a life filled with love.Take pride in what you are achieving with your girls.You are a wonderful Mum take care regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
angelmum
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | angelmum
So so true
I was lucky to have great parents and homelife, but my hubby had a violent father and has been through a lot of drug abuse and counseling to be the amazing husband and father he is to our kids.  Our take my hat of to him and to you and others that have similar upbringings, your truly special, amazing inspirational people.... xxxxxxxxxx


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | breannababy
So so true
I could not bare to crumple my little girl's soul into the ground,even when I am down in my darkest thoughts just looking into those big blue eyes of hers makes me want to throw down my life for her.I love to hear about happy families and I am so glad you have one.I commend your husband for often it is harder for Men to break the circle.Thanks for your kind words regards Merle


Reply Reply Report
cookclan
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | cookclan
Mate
I really feel for you. But i also think that you have learnt the most important lesson of all So many people judge us on what we do with our parenting overprotective,underprotective, too friendly not friendly enough without knowing our backgrounds when I think the important thing is that we do what WE think is right and in your case give breanna what you didn't have........You are a wonderful person Merle No a great and fantastic person who has overcome soooo much in your life and have come out of it and for that I applaud you... I had a very good homelife and wonderful parents who raised me the way I am raising my kids now and I am very very thankful for that... I strive to do what my parents did with me so I too can have a great relationship with them..... But I do see parents who like you had a difficult childhood and are just running full circle with their own........congrats on wanting better for Breanna Mwah to you.........


Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | breannababy
Mate
Thank-you Angie,I really can't stress enough the importance of parenting with love....no matter what the upbringing,we need to focus on giving our children the life we ourselves would want.Life is not easy and we as parents go through a lot of stress and pressure.Perfection is an illusion in regard to parenting but I do believe as long as we parent with love and respect we can't do too badly.Thanks Angie mmmwwwwaaahhh


Reply Reply Report
mumof1girl
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | mumof1girl
So true

 

We always want our children's lives better than ours and make their lives as good and real as possible.



Reply Reply Report
      breannababy
5.00 (Excellent) | January 2007 | breannababy
So true
AMEN TO THAT,TOO TRUE


Reply Reply Report