Children and domestic violence
Women often try to remain in abusive relationships because they think that it is better for their children to have both parents with them, regardless of the circumstances. Having a two parent household is good, but not when the parents are modeling self destructive behavior.

Children learn best what they see—not what they are told.

In the typical abusive family, the children suffer as much verbal and emotional abuse as the woman. It is quite common for them also to become victims of physical abuse as the violence escalates.

Violence is a learned behavior. When a person sees or experiences violence frequently it becomes a part of their world and seems normal to them. The longer the mother endures being abused, the more firmly she plants the seed of acceptance in the mind of a child. After a child has lived with violence for a while, the shock of it lessens and violent reactions are more comfortable to them than reasonable and peaceful ways.

The bottom line is the child who grows up in an abusive home is at high risk of becoming either a batterer or a victim of abuse.