A Child Called “It” Even though Dave Pelzer’s childhood story is inspirational, and moving, no one can even imagine the horror he went through. For years he was trapped, living in a house with his emotionally unstable mother who abused him. His mother severely beat him until he fell to the floor and could not get up. He was never fed, and if he was fed he had no choice but to eat scraps. He wore the same clothes every day for years, and slept in an old, army cot in the basement. Eventually he was no longer included in the family, and was referred to as “The Boy”, or “It”. As he was always ordered to perform chores, and not play with his brothers, they did not acknowledge his presence. He was neglected by his father, who just stood by watching the mother brutally torture Dave. He had no friends, and was the main target for bullies at school. He quickly felt alone, with much hatred and anger towards everyone that existed. His mother brainwashed him into hating himself, believing the family’s struggles were his fault, and to respond to anyone who asks about his bruises with a story that he walked into the wall, and then to proceed with the statement: “It was just an accident”. The abuse came to an end at the age of twelve, when he was taken away by the police and placed into foster care. Several years later he joined the Air Force, and afterwards married, with a son, and became a writer. The first few years of his life were completely different. His mother was the complete opposite, where she was a warmhearted, caring mother instead of a cold monster. The atmosphere within the family was peaceful and loving. His mother put makeup on, dressed nicely, and acted very lively in any situation that called for. Viewing Dave’s life through Erikson’s eight stages of development shows that during trust versus mistrust, the basic trust need was met. He was always loved and taken care of by his parents. As an infant and toddler, he had all of the love in the world from his family. He also had many friends who enjoyed playing with him. When he was able to seek out playmates he was able to satisfy the initiative need during the initiative versus guild stage. However, a few years after, everything changed drastically. Dave’s father spent a lot of time away for work, as his mother’s conditioned worsened when spent her days lying on the couch, in front of the television, consuming alcohol for hours. His mother limited his playtime with other children and his brothers, to no time given at all. His time was consumed by chores, or standing in the basement for hours, waiting for Mother’s next orders. He became the ‘problem child’ in school, losing all his friends and not performing well on his school work. According to Erikson, during this stage of industry versus inferiority, he developed a sense of inferiority. Although he did not do well in school, there were times he tried his hardest to impress his mother. He struggled a lot to gain his mother’s approval. But when he did well in school, he ran home to show her a letter of his good behavior, in expectance of her praise. But, as always, he received nothing but a cold, disgusted look, and a beating. Although he experienced success at first, as the teacher handed him the letter for his mother, ultimately in the end he was not able to actually experience the enjoyment of success because of his mother’s rejection. Although when his mother stabbed him was an accident, she showed no sign of remorse. When the nurse found the stab wound on his stomach, he cried out that it was not her fault. He tried to convince them it was because he