Children appear to be overly anxious about pleasing their mother. They are almost terrified when they accidentally get dirty or say something that seems to displease her. A child tells her Sunday School teacher that her dad throws her against the wall when he is angry. Teens who are grounded say that their parents won't allow them to go to the bathroom without permission. In our years in church work, my minister-husband and I have seen the whole spectrum of abuse.
Abusers come from all races and economic levels.
And sometimes, what appears to be abuse is not. In the above scenarios, two instances turned out to be totally false. The child who said her father threw her against the wall was constantly designing tales. In her dad's presence, she was very relaxed and silly. The teen who felt intimidated by the adult's interaction with her was perhaps attempting to get attention, and later retracted her statements.