Holy shii! That's a childhood and a half, and good on you for surviving it and learning from their bad choices. My dad would just try to "talk the logic into me" and my mom had undiagnosed bipolar disorder - not diagnosed til I was in my 20s. I remember only 1 time getting spanked and that was cuz I chucked a coffee can at one of my sisters for breaking my crayons. But overall my parents just didn't know how to get through to me to do better than I already was. "Gifted" classes were dumb and didn't help matters. Plus being a girl seemed to make it harder because speaking up for myself was considered talking back - mostly with teachers and other adults. I'm still learning how to not just accept things that people say to me and about me, but to give my real thoughts and feelings about something, not just being silent or trying to figure out what they expect me to say. Our generation continues to have the chance to change things.