"I don’t know which traumatized me more"

Well that was the whole idea, a little controlled trauma is much better than major trauma or death if you didn't follow the rules. 

There's a huge difference between a little character building and a savage beating by an abusive parent. 
FWIW the emotional trauma of verbal abuse can have a more devastating affect than any whomping on the backside. 

Besides, you also got to have one of the first epiphanies of life: Hey, that doesn't really hurt any more.