Closest I ever saw to this was one time a mom was going off on her own kid (about 8 years old I'd guess) at a sporting event when they were practicing. She didn't punch her or anything, but she shook the hell out of her and tore her head off verbally calling her every name in the book and cussing like a sailor. Kid just stood there like a wet noodle bawling. Mom was a semi-professional in the sport. It was very public and everyone around was just asking each other if someone should do something. I finally loudly said, "hey take it easy" toward her. The mom didn't even look up, just grabbed the kid by the wrist and drug her off.
I thought...man, that poor kid and wow she's really going to be fucked up and probably going to quit and if that mom will go that far in public, I wonder what goes on behind closed doors and what a piece of shit mom. Kid went on to be one of the best in her sport and by all appearances, a really good, very put together kid. Full ride to college, all kinds of national awards, a bunch of great young leadership roles and some pretty cool charitable stuff. So, who the fuck knows?