When an adult looks back on their childhood, they often describe a period of time in their life as 'fuzzy' or foggy, or like looking through water.  They may remember starting the 3rd grade but have no recall until perhaps spots of the 5th grade or even later.  There may be many blank years when nothing is remembered during that period of time. This is an indication some sort of trauma impacted the child's life.

When asked, parents may deny any such event could have taken place within the family.  If the abuser was a favored sibling then the parents may be in denial.  Sometimes the parents are, in fact, totally unaware of any problem.

On the other hand, parents may be well aware of their favorite child's flaws but choose to ignore the facts.

And, parents are frequently the abuser whose interest is in self-preservation.

If you are an adult: Healing a child-spirit is an important step in restoring or developing a functioning adult.  It is the first step in breaking all addictions.