Search Results: abusive parents

Context:
Throughout my entire childhood my father was always the dominant figure in my household. It wasn't aggressive or violent, he just laid down the law and everyone followed it - he was in charge - no question. He would enforce said rules by spanking my sister, myself, and even my mother, more or less depending on the offense - from questioning his authority, to breaking a lamp, to doing the laundry badly (more for my mother), to getting bad grades (more for my sister and I).

As a child it never seemed odd to me, I just assumed that was just the way families were. Seeing my mother spanked by my father in front of my sister and I the same way he spanked us just didn't affect me all that much. A friend I invited over once in around 6th Grade was the one who broke it to me that most families don't do it that way.

I would like to make it quite clear my family wasn't abusive. Not only are my parents still together and love each other, but my father is a wonderful man and I hold nothing against him. It was just our family dynamic. I haven't really had a platform to ask exactly how common this was before now, so I figured this was my chance.

Question:
So did your father have the dominant role in your household as a child? To what degree? If not, which parent took charge, and how? Were you and your siblings spanked, and if so, was your less dominant parent also spanked?