Past Abuse: Dealing with Childhood Trauma as a Parent

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First published: 3 April 2022 @ 6:00 pm

How To Deal With The Effects of Childhood Abuse

If you are a parent who has been abused as a child, there are steps that you can take to deal with the effects of your childhood abuse and allow yourself to be an effective parent.

The first step realizes that it is not your fault that your parents abused you or failed to protect you from others. They were victims themselves and were unable to break the cycle of abusive relationships in their own lives.

It is also important for parents who have been abused as children to remember that the way they parent their children is not the same as how their parents parented them.

Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash.

How Can I Be An Effective Parent?

Parenting is already difficult even if you have no history of abuse. If you’ve experienced child abuse before, the journey to becoming a good parent will become much harder.

That doesn’t mean you can’t form positive interpersonal relationships with your children and partners though. In many cases, abusive events can make you become a more sympathetic person than the average parent.

All you need to do is to follow these tips to become an effective parent without inflicting the cycle of abuse in your family.

· Allow yourself to heal from your childhood abuse. 

· Seek counseling for yourself and your children if necessary. 

· Make sure that you set appropriate boundaries for your children. 

· Be sure to keep lines of communication open with your children and listen to what they have to say. 

· Keep an eye out for signs of abuse in your children, even if you don’t see it happening at home. 

It is also important for parents who have been abused as children to remember that the way they parent their children is not the same as how their parents parented them.

They can learn to be effective parents in a healthy manner, even with consequences of abuse they’ve experienced before. Mental health services and mental health professionals can help you to overcome your history of abuse.

Share this article with your friends and family who are also looking for tips on dealing with past abuse as a parent!