Ive had my ass beat, been slapped, etc... I dont consider it abuse, because it didnt happen all the time, and when it happened I was being a little shit. Ive been hit with hangers, belts, hands, a two liter thrown at my head, been shoved to the ground repeatedly, slapped upside the head and across the face, shit my mom gave me a fat lip at my grad party.
yet I never had an experience like that girl had. even if my mom does lash out at me when she's angry, she knows when to stop, and usually its only a few hits.
when I was younger and deserved a spanking my dad would negotiate how many swats i got, and with what. He never went over ten swats with the belt.
There's a difference between the fear her dad is trying to give her, and getting slapped across the face for being mouthy like me. My parents never used violence like that