I was brutalized as a kid, so, I grew up wanting better for my children. It is hard to ignore the patterns that you grew up in, especially, if you made it out with some measure of sanity. You think, "well I turned out ok", but you really have to remember how it felt at the wrong end of the belt, stick, hand and remember the terror you felt, then it is easy to not hit them.
It still effs me up sometimes still because I see my children as a blessing and a resource for the future and I don't think my parents saw me that way. They were wrong.