*sigh* I have spoken to my mother numerous times about this. She denies she ever "abused" us. My brother refuses to have anything to do with her and my dad because of the abuse we endured as children. She claims she only hit us with the belt "twice in your life". No. I'm sorry. If it was only twice, why do I remember it so vividly? Why did my brother and I hide all of the belts in the house while she was out?
I remember being slapped, hit with the belt, being dragged across the floor by my hair... It's ABUSE, plain and simple. There is NO other word for it. She refuses to admit that it was. Refuses to acknowledge that she was anything like her own mother (who was worse!). My grandmother was a horrible mother...but at least she admitted it before she died. She was abusive, both physically and mentally, calling my mom and her sister ugly, stupid, retarded, and telling them they'd never amount to anything because they were nothing. They were the only 2 out of all the kids that got this treatment. They were beaten simply because she felt like it.
My mother went after us in anger most of the time. My brother was a difficult child, but he was an angry child. And now he's an angry adult. And she still can't understand why he can't "let it go". Honestly, he did approach her about it a few years ago and explained why he is cold toward her. He was trying to make amends and make her understand. All she said was "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but you needed it".
Both she and her mother were JW's.