I was close enough with a friend and his family to where his dad would beat my friend with me in the house. I had two friends like this, although I only heard it with one - with the other I saw he was scared of the wire hanger cause of his step dads baleful laugh.
He wouldn't do it in front of me. His dad would take him upstairs with an angry order after he got home, when my friend had played with me - basketball or climbing trees or whatever kid game we'd think up - before he finished his homework. I heard the screams, the crying, and the apologies from downstairs. Then my friend would come downstairs with teary eyes and a red face to tell me I had to go so he could do his homework. The dad must've had a bad day at work. He wanted his son to succeed and was probably worried for him, that he wouldn't end up as well off as him.