Lived Experience: Brian Carlson

Read Brian's Story

My name is Brian and I am 8. I love Legos and I really like playing baseball. One of my favorite things about baseball is when my dad is the assistant coach. He’s a really good coach and he makes all my friends laugh, and also the other dads. He also makes us play better. He knows a lot about baseball, even the big leagues on tv.

Sometimes my dad gets mad at my mom – and sometimes he says mean things to her. One time I saw him kick her. She was also saying some mean things, I think, and she’s smaller, so it was hard for her to kick him back. But she knows that she shouldn’t say those things. I think she makes him angry on purpose. She doesn’t listen to him as much as she should, and that makes him mad. It’s really important that wives should listen to their husbands. But when he kicked her, it made me scared. I wanted her to stop yelling so he would stop kicking her.

But my dad is really awesome too. He just gets angry. Like at school, when I get angry, my teacher makes me take a time-out, or sends me to Principal Gates to see if we can talk stuff out. I think grownups just need more time-outs. That’s what my mom and dad need. But I love my family. We are happy a lot of the time. And my dad just got us a puppy, and he says when he comes back he’ll get me a new baseball glove. My dad is pretty cool. And so is my mom.

Module Purpose | Childhood Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence | Amanda’s Story | Potential Impact of Living with Violence | Brian’s Story | What Children and Youth Need | Anna’s Story | Ashley’s Story | Supporting Children | Nelson’s Story |  Supporting Adolescents | Kimmy’s Story | Mike’s Story | Critical Thinking