Compared to most of the responses here, I guess I was lucky. I only got spankings til I was 4 or so - once I learned what behavior led to pain, I pretty much stopped doing it - my parents only punished in a fashion that made sense, I guess.

I also learned to be very independent because they both worked & I was alone more than I was supervised, and there were no latch-key-kids programs at the time or in the area. My parents were just down to earth & practical, & it didn't matter if someone was 5 or 55, they expected people to be able to take care of themselves. It probably explains why I get so mad at myself if I get hurt or sick - I hate that feeling of neediness & helplessness.

Even though both of my parents came from relatively strict religious upbringings, they were more agnostic than anything - they sent me to church w/my friends or their friends & I got to experience a great variety in worship... they taught me to read & write before I hit kindergarten... they were nudists at home, which was kind of irritating as a kid - I always had to make sure it was 'safe' for a friend to come inside the house, but I'm generally more accepting of my body & the bodies of others than most people I know. I've come out of early childhood with a general acceptance of fellow humans, and an open mind...

but I was only with my parents til my mom died when I was 9, & my dad abandoned me to a drug addicted, alcoholic cousin in a dysfunctional adult family. By the time I was 10 1/2, I was a hardened alcoholic who had stopped accepting people at face value & had begun to learn how not to trust the world. I stopped hoping & dreaming & wishing because expectations of people's behavior & outcomes only led to disappointment.

I don't know if those lessons in mistrust & lack of hope for the future will ever be overcome... So far, nothing has reached out to teach me anything different about the world.