1 no
2 jw mother
3 at first my father placed restrictions but it wasn't long before we were attending evening meetings.
4 yes I wasn't aware we even had a choice.We were never asked if we wanted to go, any refusal to participate with family study or apparent lack of cooperation was greater with guilt trips. Did we not appreciate all my mother was doing for us etc.
5 no at first we were allowed holidays but again these gradually fell away as we became more indoctrinated. My father would pretend it was a relief not to have to spend money at Christmas but it was never his choice.
6 on the plus side my father was ambitious for us but in reality he had little influence against the pressure to conform. He has a strong sense of family loyalty and hated it when elders appeared to have authority over private family matters. Later knowing he was there was a huge comfort and helped us to leave. He has had more influence over my mum when we left and won't allow her to shun us. My dad is my hero.
7 being in a devided home is a constant source of stress. You can't gain the approval of both parents at the same time you are always disappointing one or the other. The organisation undermines the voice of the unbeliever and inserts elders into the father's role like a spiritual cuckoo. This makes it hard for them to be heard. It means you never had a normal childhood. I agree that you spend a lot of time preoccupied that your father will die and wondering if there is any way for them to escape gods judgement. Wishing a parent would die is a dreadful thing for a child to concern themselves with. If you lived through 1975 the feeling was constantly present.
8 we missed out on so much but were neither fish nor fowl. We couldn't have worldly friends because our mother would not approve. But we never fit in socially at the hall because our father insisted we attend assemblies whilst other witnesses had to sit outside. We felt uncomfortable at assemblies because we were taught they were bad by the organisation but were grateful we didn't have to make a stand. Childhood was a constant juggling act it gives me a headache just thinking about it.
